Working in partnership with the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia will be shining some much needed light on Atlantic Canadian filmmakers. Their new series, Atlantic Cinematheque, will be celebrating the works of these filmmakers once a month with “FIN Fridays” at the gallery.
“A partnership with FIN is a natural fit for the Gallery,” says Colin Stinson, Director of Marketing and Visitor Experience at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. “This monthly film series will bring something new to Halifax, giving movie fans a new way to experience great locally-produced films. Working together gives us a new way to bring people together and connect them through art.”
It’s not the first time the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has partnered with FIN. Last Fall the gallery functioned as a natural venue for the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, screening films by Newfoundland filmmaker Kenneth J. Harvey, and filmmaker/artist Althea Thauberger whose work is currently on exhibit at the gallery.
“Together, we are creating a platform to showcase films made locally that may not have been screened to Halifax audiences before,” says Wayne Carter, Executive Director of FIN. “By pairing these films with a dedicated venue that already celebrates the people and culture of Atlantic Canada through art, it gives audiences the opportunity to experience the works of great local talent on the big screen in a space where they can also interact with more great art after the credits roll.”
The first film to be screened as part of the series is the documentary Perfume War (Michael Melski, 2016, 95 minutes, PG).
“Perfume War is an inspiring documentary about two friends and their unstoppable fight for world peace. Captain Trevor Greene’s mission in Afghanistan ends violently with a Taliban axe in his head. Miraculously, he survives to see his best friend Barb Stegemann, a single mom, carry on his peace mission with a new strategy – perfume. In an Art of War maneuver, she takes what the enemy loves most, the poppy crop, by purchasing rose and orange blossom oils, which pay Afghan farmers twice the income over illegal poppy. Scientists marvel at Greene’s recovery as he rebuilds his brain, while Stegemann helps rebuild in Afghanistan and Rwanda. Barb fights a retail war in stores while working to keep her company financially afloat.”
The FIN Friday screenings will taken place in the Gallery’s Windsor Foundation Theatre on the last Friday of every month, beginning January 31, 2020 at 7 p.m. The full winter schedule for FIN Fridays is available on the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s and FIN’s websites. Entry to the film will be included in the cost of admission to the Gallery.