Arguably the best worst thing about 2020 is that most of it will inevitably be enjoyed from the comfort of our homes. Capitalizing on an audience that comes pre-pyjama’d and eager to binge, FIN Atlantic International Film Festival have announced their new digital approach to the festival, FIN Stream, potentially making for the largest number of pets to ever attend the festival.
From September 17 – 24, 2020, audiences across Atlantic Canada will be able to stream 114 films, with selections from 22 countries in over 20 different languages, along with FIN’s workshops and other special events.
“To say 2020 has been an unusual year would be an understatement and, back in January as we began plans for our 40th Anniversary celebratory Film Festival, we had no idea it would take the form it has. However, nothing inspires innovation and growth like challenge!” says Wayne Carter, FIN Executive Director.
“When I joined the Festival organization nine years ago, one of my long term goals was to develop a way for the Festival to reach out in a concrete fashion to both creators and audience beyond Halifax and the surrounding area – and in a truly ‘silver lining’ to this cloud we currently find ourselves under, here we are.”
Fin Atlantic International Film Festival, despite the abundance of international films being showcased, point out that they are very much an Atlantic Canadian affair at heart.
This year, four of the seven listed films being shown during the festival’s Gala events come from the East Coast, including Little Orphans (Sept. 180 from Newfoundland actor and filmmaker Ruth Lawrence, Under the Weather (Sept. 19) from St. John’s, NL’s Governor General’s Award-winning director William D. MacGillivray, Clive Barker’s Books of Blood (Sept. 20) gets a Nova Scotian remake, thanks to director Brannon Braga (Star Trek), and The Forbidden Reel (Sept. 21) from Halifax-born documentary filmmaker Ariel Nasr.
Another eight films from Atlantic Canadian filmmakers will be shown during the Reel East Coast Shorts Gala of September 23, including: Shane Colin Mountain with The Seventh Man; Gwydian Morris with Deadstick John; Latonia Hartery with The Death of Winter; Zyanya Barbara Juarez Arellano with I Met Death, Asked Her If She Was Mexican; Shane Pendergast with Song of the Stevedore; Arianna Martinez with Maya Eterna; Gia Milani with At the Back; and Jordan Canning & Howie Shia with 4 North A.
Among the Atlantic Canadian features being shown are Bone Cage, from Nova Scotian filmmaker Taylor Olson and based on the play by Catherine Bank, Queen of the Andes, the debut feature from New Brunswick’s Jillian Acreman, and two films from Prince Edward Island: Jason Arsensault’s Wharf Rats and Still the Water from director Susan Rodgers.
In the category of Atlantic Canadian documentaries come two films: Darrell Varga’s Bread in the Bones, and Israel Ekanem’s Good Earth: The Pots and Passion of Walter Ostrom.
All this and more can be found on the FIN Atlantic Film Festival website, with a complete list of films, schedules and details.
More than focusing solely on film screenings, FIN Partners will also be connecting filmmakers with producers, sales agents, financiers, and industry executives through interactive panels, webinars, and virtual meetings, and casting a wider net than ever thanks to the new digital initiative.
“2020 marks the 23rd year of FIN Partners, and each year includes an increasingly impressive delegation of entertainment industry leaders,” says Morgan Salter, FIN Partners Manager. “This year’s online format makes the market more accessible and convenient than ever, and the increased number of very compelling and high-caliber project submissions from across Canada and around the world reflects that.”
On the downside, you’re going to want to change out of your pyjamas for those high-caliber zoom meetings.
Tickets for individual screenings and festival passes are on sale TODAY, August 19 at 1 P.M. AT through FIN’s online box office at finfestival.ca. The finfestival.ca website is the hub for all FIN Stream information, including the new interactive film listing system, FINpedia, featuring film synopses, full film information, and film trailers.