(l-r) Grace Molony stars as Dorothy Stafford, Margot Robbie stars as Queen Elizabeth I and Georgia Burnell as Kate Carey in MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, a Focus Features release.[/caption]
Festival goers attending the 18th annual Whistler Film Festival (WFF), taking place from November 28 to December 2, can look forward to 85 fresh films including 50 features and 35 shorts representing 12 countries. WFF is set to open this year with Josie Rourke’s MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, starring two of last year’s Oscar nominated best actresses, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. Rourke’s breathtakingly beautiful directorial debut explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Ronan), and her struggle to reclaim her rightful throne as Queen of Scotland, then under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I (Robbie).
Closing the festival is the Canadian Premiere of groundbreaking surf documentary MOMENTUM GENERATION. Directed by Academy Award-shortlisted and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmakers Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, the documentary follows the biggest names in surfing, including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Kalani Robb and the late Todd Chesser. Executive produced by Sundance founder Robert Redford with stunning archival footage from the godfather of surf films Taylor Steele, MOMENTUM GENERATION gives audiences an inside look at the lives of these teenagers as they rose to super stardom as the first competitive surfers.
WFF will screen six award season contenders including hosting the Canadian premieres of ON THE BASIS OF SEX, Mimi Leder’s topical biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg played by Felicity Jones, and Robert Budreau’s STOCKHOLM with Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace. The festival will also feature Western Canadian Premieres of AT ETERNITY’S GATE, director Julian Schnabel’s take on the life on Vincent Van Gogh played by Willem Dafoe; IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, the first film from director Barry Jenkins since winning the Academy Award for Best Picture with MOONLIGHT; Alfonso Cuarón’s masterful ROMA, which – for the first time ever at WFF – will be shown in 4k projection and 7.2 sound; and FAMILY FIRST (CHIEN DE GARDE) directed by Sophie Dupuis, Canada’s entry in this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar category.
Other highlights include the World Premiere of Borsos Jury member Bruce McDonald’s CLAIRE’S HAT, an unprecedented filmic mea culpa about the making of the 2001 fiasco PICTURE CLAIRE. This funny, insightful and brilliantly reconstructed exploration documents what went wrong during the shooting of McDonald’s biggest budget movie to date. Direct from its premiere at Telluride, Brigitte Berman’s HUGH HEFNER’S AFTER DARK: SPEAKING OUT IN AMERICA, features a treasure trove of archival footage with everyone from Lenny Bruce to Moms Mabley.
Programming strands include American Indies, Canadian Vanguard, Contenders, Doc Bloc, First Features, From Overseas, From The Vault, Mountain Culture, ShortWork, and World Premieres.
WFF boasts that four of its five films in its American Indies strand will grace Canadian screens for the first time in Whistler. Titles include Wendy McColm’s funny and bittersweet BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS; Adisa’s horrifying look at sex trafficking in SKIN IN THE GAME; Alex Harvey’s brilliant WALDEN: LIFE IN THE WOODS with Oscar nominee Demián Bichir; and Emma Forrest’s moving UNTOGETHER, with Jamie Dornan (50 SHADES OF GREY), Jemima Kirke, Lola Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn and Jennifer Grey. Finally, Sebastián Silva’s TYREL features Michael Cera in a story about a lone black man on otherwise all-white weekend of drunken bro debauchery on a birthday trip to a cabin in the Catskills.
This year, 18 Canadian films will compete for Canada’s second largest festival prize in the 15th annual Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature. Borsos titles feature seven World Premieres including Jon Silverberg’s haunting WOODLAND (shot in BC); Métis director Shane Belcourt’s mission to Mars comedy RED ROVER starring Cara Gee; Jesse Zigelstein’s restaurant owner drama for foodies NOSE TO TAIL, Carolyn Combs’ ode to multiculturalism in Vancouver BELLA CIAO!; Natty Zavitz’s moving forbidden romance drama ACQUAINTED; Maja Zdanowski’s ambitious multi-character drama IN GOD I TRUST; Zack Bernbaum’s hilariously deadpan road movie about two Toronto Jews on a trek into Poland THE DANCING DOGS OF DOMBROVA; and Rama Rau’s HONEY BEE, which features another unforgettable performance by Julia Sarah Stone (WFF 2017 Star to Watch Alumni) as an underage truckstop hooker.
Western Canadian premieres in the Borsos Competition include Deanne Foley’s poignant exploration of mental illness and maternal yearnings, AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS; Kristina Wagenbauer’s moving story of mother/daughter conflict SASHINKA; Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ A COLONY (UNE COLONIE), a memorable small-town coming of age story; Roz Owen’s study of a disenfranchised First Nations woman TROUBLE IN THE GARDEN featuring Cara Gee; Renée Beaulieu’s shockingly honest THE NATURALLY WANTON PLEASURE OF SKIN (LES SALOPES); Darlene Naponse’s FALLS AROUND HER featuring a career-best performance by Tantoo Cardinal; Lenin M. Sivam’s ROOBHA, a moving and empathetic look at transgender romance within the Canadian Tamil community; Sébastien Pilote’s award-winning coming of age story THE FIREFLIES ARE GONE; Sophie Dupuis’ first feature FAMILY FIRST (CHIEN DE GARDE), Canada’s entry in this year’s Foreign language Oscar category; and the Canadian Premiere of Robert Budreau’s STOCKHOLM with Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace.
In addition to the Canadian Premiere of the definitive surfing documentary MOMENTUM GENERATION which will close the festival, this year’s Mountain Culture films include premieres of Whistler-based directors Brian Hockenstein and Tamo Campos’ THE RADICALS which follows a group of snowboarders and surfers who drift from the mountains and oceans into the world of activism; Patagonia’s stunning winter film TREELINE which explores the diverse forests of British Columbia, Nevada, and Japan, directed by Vancouver-based Jordan Manley; and winner of the Best Documentary award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, FREE SOLO, directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold’s preparations to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock – the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park – without a rope.
This year’s Doc Bloc competition features a refreshingly diverse line-up. Two BC-based productions will grace our screens, including NEVER BE DONE: THE RICHARD GLEN LETT STORY directed by Roy Tighe about a self-sabotaging Vancouver based stand-up comic, and the World Premiere of FUCK YOU ALL: THE UWE BOLL STORY directed by Sean Patrick Shaul. Canadian premieres include Brian Bellinkoff’s PSYCHONAUTICS: A COMIC’S EXPLORATION OF PSYCHEDELICS with comedian Shane Mauss, and Brigitte Berman’s HUGH HEFNER’S AFTER DARK: SPEAKING OUT IN AMERICA. In addition, WFF will screen the World Premiere of Jaren Hayman’s eye-opening exploration of Canada’s largest black community in THIS IS NORTH PRESTON. Western Canadian premieres include THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING, Tom Donahue’s timely reminder of gender inequality in the film and television industries being shown as part of WFF’s Women on Top Series, and our British Columbia premiere selection includes Laura Marie Wayne’s LOVE, SCOTT, about the lasting impact of a horrific incident of homophobic violence, produced by the National Film Board of Canada.
Other films of note in this year’s lineup include the family-friendly first feature from the Northwest Territories’ Jennifer Walden, ELIJAH AND THE ROCK CREATURE; musical Christmas zombie movie ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE that simply must be seen to be believed; Gillian McKercher’s realistic look at working in the Alberta oil sands CIRCLE OF STEEL; Collin Friesen’s hilarious comedy about burying a deceased father’s ashes featuring a stand-out performance from Bruce Greenwood, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS; and Eva Husson’s rousing film detailing a Kurdish all-female battalion, GIRLS OF THE SUN. Borsos award winner Maxime Giroux (FELIX AND MEIRA 2014) returns with his newest THE GREAT DARKENED DAYS, and Gary Burns honors the festival with his Mountain Culture entry MAN RUNNING, about a doctor running a marathon in the Rockies.
WFF 2018 COMPLETE FEATURE FILM LISTING BY STRAND
American Indies
BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS (United States) Dir. Wendy McColm SKIN IN THE GAME (United States) Dir. Adisa TYREL (United States) Dir. Sebastián Silva UNTOGETHER (United States) Dir. Emma Forrest WALDEN: LIFE IN THE WOODS (United States) Dir. Alex HarveyCanadian Vanguard
AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS (Canada) Dir. Deanne Foley FALLS AROUND HER (Canada) Dir. Darlene Naponse THE FIREFLIES ARE GONE (Canada) Dir. Sébastien Pilote THE GREAT DARKENED DAYS (Canada) Dir. Maxime Giroux MAN RUNNING (Canada) Dir. Gary Burns THE NATURALLY WANTON PLEASURE OF SKIN (Canada) Dir. Renée BeaulieuContenders
AT ETERNITY’S GATE (United States) Dir. Julian Schnabel FAMILY FIRST (CHIEN DE GARDE) (Canada) Dir. Sophie Dupuis IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (United States) Dir. Barry Jenkins ON THE BASIS OF SEX (United States) Dir. Mimi Leder ROMA (United States, Mexico) Dir. Alfonso Cuarón STOCKHOLM (Canada) Dir. Robert BudreauDiscoveries
A COLONY (Canada) Dir. Geneviève Dulude-De Celles ACQUAINTED (Canada) Dir. Natty Zavitz THE DANCING DOGS OF DOMBROVA (Canada) Dir. Zack Bernbaum HONEY BEE (Canada) Dir. Rama Rau ROOBHA (Canada) Dir. Lenin M. SivamDoc Bloc
FUCK YOU ALL: THE UWE BOLL STORY (Canada) Dir. Sean Patrick Shaul HUGH HEFNER’S AFTER DARK: SPEAKING OUT IN AMERICA (Canada) Dir. Brigitte Berman LOVE, SCOTT (Canada) Dir. Laura Marie Wayne NEVER BE DONE: THE RICHARD GLEN LETT STORY (Canada) Dir. Roy Tighe PSYCHONAUTICS: A COMIC’S EXPLORATION OF PSYCHEDELICS (United States) Dir. Brian Bellinkoff THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING (United States) Dir. Tom Donahue THIS IS NORTH PRESTON (Canada) Dir. Jaren HaymanFirst Features
CIRCLE OF STEEL (Canada) Dir. Gillian McKercher ELIJAH AND THE ROCK CREATURE (Canada) Dir. Jen Walden SASHINKA (Canada) Dir. Kristina Wagenbauer SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS (Canada) Dir. Collin Friesen TROUBLE IN THE GARDEN (Canada) Dir. Roz OwenFrom Overseas
ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (United Kingdom) Dir. John McPhail GIRLS OF THE SUN (France) Dir. Eva Husson KARMA (China) Dir. Lutao Wang THE QUAKE (Norway) Dir. John Andreas AndersenFrom The Vault
CLAIRE’S HAT (Canada) Dir. Bruce McDonaldGalas
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (United Kingdom) Dir. Josie Rourke [caption id="attachment_31845" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Momentum Generation[/caption]
MOMENTUM GENERATION (United States) Dir. Jeff & Michael Zimbalist
Mountain Culture
FREE SOLO (United States) Dir. E. Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin MAN RUNNING (Canada) Dir. Gary Burns MOMENTUM GENERATION (United States) Dir. Jeff & Michael Zimbalist THE RADICALS (Canada) Dir. Brian Hockenstein & Tamo Campos TREELINE (Canada) Dir. Jordan ManleyWorld Premieres
BELLA CIAO! (Canada) Dir. Carolyn Combs IN GOD I TRUST (Canada) Dir. Maja Zdanowski INTO INVISIBLE LIGHT (Canada) Dir. Shelagh Carter NOSE TO TAIL (Canada) Dir. Jesse Zigelstein RED ROVER (Canada) Dir. Shane Belcourt WOODLAND (Canada) Dir. Jon SilverbergWFF 2018 Feature Films Eligible for the Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature:
A COLONY ACQUAINTED AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS BELLA CIAO! THE DANCING DOGS OF DOMBROVA FALLS AROUND HER FAMILY FIRST THE FIREFLIES ARE GONE HONEY BEE IN GOD I TRUST THE NATURALLY WANTON PLEASURE OF SKIN NOSE TO TAIL RED ROVER ROOBHA TROUBLE IN THE GARDEN SASHINKA STOCKHOLM WOODLAND
Hugh Hefner’s After Dark: Speaking Out in America[/caption]
With just 12 weeks to go until its 18th edition, the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) confirmed the first films plus the BC talent that will be honored at Almost WFF, its’ annual benefit in Vancouver. From November 28th to December 2nd, the Whistler Film Festival will welcome both fans and filmmakers to experience fresh films, special guests, epic events, unique industry and talent programs.
Top lining this year’s Canadian titles are selections from past WFF Alumni, three of which are eligible for WFF’s coveted Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature which offers a $15,000 cash prize presented by the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia.
Grant Fuhr in Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story[/caption]
The world premiere of Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story, directed by Don Metz, will screen on September 29, as the Closing Gala film 0f the Calgary International Film Festival. Called the greatest goaltender in hockey history by Wayne Gretzky, Fuhr also struggled with cocaine and had well-known conflicts with the League. Making Coco is the story of his life, both on and off the ice.
The Calgary International Film Festival also announced 11 more films today, all gripping stories of hurdles overcome. This selection includes features, shorts and documentaries from countries including Lebanon, Germany, England and Canada.
“Films give us the opportunity to see into people’s lives that are totally different from our own, to understand and to empathize,” said Stephen Schroeder, Executive Director of the Calgary International Film Festival. “These films all depict a life lived on the edge: stories of obstacles, loss, and pain, but also triumph, hope, and strength when we need it the most.”
ALIVE directed by Rob Grant
A severely injured man (Thomas Cocquerel) and woman (Camille Stopps) awake in an abandoned hospital to discover they are being held hostage by a sadistic caretaker (Angus Macfadyen, BRAVEHART, SAW 3 & 4). As the two decide to find a way out, they realize their caretaker is the only one with answers to their real identity. Vancouver Director Rob Grant (FAKE BLOOD, Calgary Film 2017), produced and shot this film in the Calgary area, using a mostly local crew.
ALL ABOUT NINA directed Eva Vives
Nina Geld (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a blisteringly provocative stand-up comedian whose career is taking off, but whose personal life is a near-complete disaster. In this narrative feature, Nina flees to Los Angeles where she meets Rafe (Common), who challenges almost every preconception she has – including those around her own troubled past.
ANTHROPOCENE directed by Jennifer Baichwal
Four years in the making, this documentary feature is a stunning and sobering reflection on the human capacity for transforming the planet for our purposes, chronicling the work of an international team of scientists who have spent a decade researching the profound geological change caused by human endeavour.
CAPERNAUM directed by Nadine Labaki
Winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes, this narrative feature from Lebanon tells the story of an extraordinary trial: 12-year old Zain is suing his parents for giving him life, and launches his lawsuit against his parents while serving a prison sentence. The film takes us on an emotionally charged journey through the streets of Beirut and shows us the gritty life that Zain and his siblings had to face while uncovering the decisions made by his parents.
LETTER FROM MASANJIA directed by Leon Lee
When a woman from Oregon finds an SOS note written by a Chinese prisoner stashed in a box of Halloween decorations from Kmart, she never imagined it would eventually lead to the closure of all of China’s labour camps. This nail-biting documentary shows the actions of a few good citizens can truly thwart those of a totalitarian regime.
MAKING COCO: THE GRANT FUHR STORY directed by Don Metz
At 19, Grant ‘Coco’ Fuhr became starting goalie for the Oilers. In his mid-30’s, he played 79 games in an 82-game season to set a league record, then played 73 the following season on a completely rebuilt knee. He backstopped five Stanley Cup champions and two Canada Cup winners. He also got himself demoted to the minors for calling the hometown fans jerks, announced his retirement at the age of 26 in an attempt to renegotiate a long-term contract and was suspended for an entire NHL season for cocaine use, only to return and redeem himself as one of the game’s true greats. Fuhr was the first black superstar in hockey, winning 403 regular season NHL games. He’s a member of the 2003 class of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
MAN RUNNING directed by Gary Burns
In this Alberta feature, a young doctor runs in a grueling 24-hour, 200-kilometer ultra-marathon over rugged mountain terrain as he avoids a police investigation into a recent incident involving his medical practice. Veteran Calgary-based director, Gary Burns (WAYDOWNTOWN, PROBLEM WITH FEAR, RADIANT CITY), once again crafts an innovative story that pushes boundaries and challenges audiences.
PRINCE’S TALE directed by Jamie Miller
This Canadian short portrays the life of Prince Amponsah, a young actor who survived a near-fatal fire in 2012, and the journey of mental recovery that brought him back on stage.
THE GREAT DARKENED DAYS directed by Maxime Giroux
In this Canadian narrative feature, Philippe, a draft-dodger from Quebec, takes refuge from a world war in the American West, surviving by competing in Charlie Chaplin impersonation contests. As Philippe makes his long journey home, he encounters various characters under the sway of a destructive madness. His voyage, both violent and fascinating, is a hallucinatory initiation to the darker side of the American dream.
THE HEAT: A KITCHEN (R)EVOLUTION directed by Maya Gallus
In restaurant kitchens, tight quarters, high pressure and hot tempers combine to create toxic conditions that make it difficult for anyone to survive, let alone climb the ladder to head chef. For women, the situation is even worse. From New York City’s star chefs Anita Lo and Amanda Cohen to the queen of French cuisine Anne-Sophie Pic, seven chefs share their struggles and inspirations in this Canadian documentary feature.
THUNDER ROAD directed by Jim Cummings
A jaw-dropping performance filled with bursts of offbeat humor and unexpected pathos as a small-town police officer struggling to process the death of his mother, an impending divorce, and his own unrecognized cluelessness. This is a Canadian premiere for this independent American feature.
TWO PUDDLES directed by Timothy Keeling
Embarking on a woodland retreat to ease straining family relations, a mother, father and their teenage daughter encounter two connected puddles forcing them to decide whether to sacrifice themselves for another, or risk waiting for help to arrive in time. A short from the UK.