THUNDER BAY – A pair of highly acclaimed, Oscar-winning films are the backbone of this year’s 25th annual Northwest Film Fest.
Moonlight, which won the Academy Award for best picture, will get two showings, including a special Thursday night preview, while Iranian-made The Salesman will close the festival out.
In total, 23 films, which won a total of 301 major film awards and were nominated for 314 more, will be screened during the festival, the bulk of which will be shown at Silver City on April 23 and April 30.
North of Superior Film Association president Marty Mascarin said this year line-up is one of their most diverse yet, featuring seven Canadian movies, six from the United States and the rest from every corner of the globe.
Picking the films is never an easy task, involving scouting potential titles at the Toronto International Film Festival and Cinefest in Sudbury.
“Also, we keep an eye out for any major releases that occur in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and films that are getting critical buzz. Then we make our submissions to the film circuit and they’re the good folks who deal with the distributors and they see what titles they can procure for us,” Mascarin said.
More often than not they’re at the whim of the distributors, who in the past have made films available only to pull them at the last minute.
Mascarin said there’s plenty of variety in this year’s collection.
The festival will start with a special April 20 prelude featuring Queen of Katwe and Moonlight screening back-to-back.
Among this year’s gems are A Man Called Ove, Paterson and the animated The Red Turtle. Other films being shown on Week 1 include Hello Destroyer, Jean of the Joneses, River of My Dreams, Last Cab to Darwin, Little Me and 20th Century Women.
Week 2 highlights include Julieta and Things to Come in a Thursday, April 27 double-feature, then on Sunday, April 30 the festival will show Swiss Army Man, Searchers, PM Burn Your Maps, The Eagle Huntress, Chevalier, Marguerite and The Other Half. A second screening of Moonlight will also be held that afternoon.
Festival co-ordinator Catherine Powell recommends attendees get to the theatre early, especially for popular titles like Moonlight, as advance tickets do not guarantee a seat and late-comers might be turned away.
“We quite often sell out during the festival because there are films that have buzz,” Powell said on Wednesday, launching this year’s festival line-up. “It’s important you come early and not as you would for another film when you come five minutes in advance.
The festival will also feature a number of shorts, including local filmmaker Ryan LaVia’s Dan’s Magic Hands, a five-minute documentary on a former hydro worker who was shocked on the job and relies the help of friends and family.
He said he’s excited to be able to show his work locally, ahead of Paterson on April 20.
“It’ll be an honour to see it play on the big screen in front of a full house,” LaVia said.
Festival six-packs, available to members only, can be purchased online at www.nosfa.ca. Single admission, cash only tickets are available at the door, $7 for members and $10 for non-members on a first-come, first-served basis.
