If you're a fan of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, we have some good news — the entire lineup of more than 130 films is now available on the festival's website.
Organizers of the Sept. 15-23 festival held a press conference Aug. 28 to highlight some of the films screening at this year's event.
Gala films at the 2018 festival bring you everywhere from Indigenous communities to a hostage situation to underwater with sharks to 1850s Oregon, and boast several big names.
With Cinéfest celebrating its 30th anniversary, there was some pressure to go above and beyond in programming the festival, said Cinéfest executive director Tammy Frick.
“Of course, our focus is always to bring the best quality programming to the North,” she said. “That's the mandate itself. But with the 30th anniversary, we definitely went after those little gems.”
As has been the case for the last couple of years, there's several films shot in Greater Sudbury and northeastern Ontario featured at Cinéfest, and two of them — "The New Romantic" and "Through Black Spruce" — have gala slots.
Frick advises people that if they want tickets to these two films, they should consider buying tickets early, as northern-shot gala films tend to sell out early.
It's fun to see local landmarks, but Frick said these are also high-quality films that appear at major film festivals.
“We're very proud that we've been able to pull in such a great lineup of northern-shot films,” she said.
To views the full Cinéfest lineup, or to purchase tickets, visit cinefest.com. You can also check out our festival primer below.
Gala films
- “The Grizzlies” (Saturday, Sept. 15) - In a small Arctic town struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse.
- “What They Had” (Sunday, Sept. 16) - Bridget (Hilary Swank) returns home at her brother's (Michael Shannon) urging to deal with her ailing mother (Blythe Danner) and her father's (Robert Forster) reluctance to let go of their life together.
- “Colette” (Monday, Sept. 17) – Starring Keira Knightley, the period film is about a woman who is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.
- “1991” (Tuesday, Sept. 18) - Ricardo recounts the adventures of his 21-year-old self, when he went to Italy following love.
- “The New Romantic” (Wednesday, Sept. 19) - Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead.
- “Bel Canto” (Thursday, Sept. 20) - A world-renowned opera singer becomes trapped in a hostage situation when she's invited to perform for a wealthy industrialist in South America.
- “Through Black Spruce” (Friday, Sept. 21) - In a story told from two different perspectives, Will Bird recounts the events which led to him being in a coma, while his niece Annie recounts her attempt to help to revive him from his coma. This film is by Canadian director Don McKellar.
- “Sharkwater: Extinction” (Saturday, Sept. 22) - Discovering that sharks are being hunted to extinction, and with them the destruction of our life support system, activist and filmmaker Rob Stewart embarks on a dangerous quest to stop the slaughter. Stewart actually drowned during the shooting of this film in 2017.
- "The Sisters Brothers" (Sunday, Sept. 23) – Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly, the film is set in 1850s Oregon, where a gold prospector is chased by the infamous duo of assassins, the Sisters brothers.
Some of our other picks:
- “Falls Around Her” (Date TBA) – A film by local writer-director Darlene Naponse, which is also screening at TIFF. Tantoo Cardinal shines as a world-famous Anishinaabe musician who returns to the reserve to rest and recharge, only to discover that fame (and the outside world) are not easily left behind.
- “Quand l’amour se creuse un trou (When Love Digs a Hole)” (Date TBA) - Miron is a young delinquent who parties instead of going to school. His parents move to the countryside with hopes that he'll concentrate on his studies. Miron meets their neighbor, Florence, a 73-year-old woman who he falls in love with.
- “Le grand bain (Sink or Swim)” (Date TBA) - A group of 40-something guys, all on the verge of a mid-life crisis, decide to form their local pool’s first ever synchronized swimming team—for men.
- “Clara” (Date TBA) - An obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.
