| During a film festival, it is certainly easy to get caught up in the hype. With so many works to choose from, there really is something for just about everybody and decisions can be tough. The best piece of advice I can offer is to look for pieces that interest you and balance them with selections that you might not have an opportunity to see on the big screen again.
The Nominees for the Alberta Centennial Awards, a program of 10 short films, on Sunday, October 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Uptown. Covering loneliness, mimes, sexuality, and getting to know your neighbours, this is an excellent opportunity to see a cross-section of what our city and province has to offer. Watch for The Artistic Taxidermist by Sandi Somers, CEA by Robert Prowse and Zoot Alors! by Tammy Primeau in this program.
Film Talks is a series of lectures on certain themes and genres throughout the festival at the Glenbow Museum. OK, OK, maybe your first priority for film fest isn’t listening to somebody talk at length about something that somebody did, some time ago. Ditch the ’tude and take a risk by listening to some cool people talk about animation, music composition, cowboys and controversy.
The Aboriginal Showcase, four features and four shorts exploring aboriginal themes, culture and history throughout the festival. One film of note, Brocket 99 – Rockin’ the Country, a documentary about an infamous recording, supposedly made by some radio DJs in Lethbridge and released in 1986, addresses a specific instance of racism that had many effects throughout our communities.
Other series to check out include Reality Reels, a whole mess of documentaries including a sub-series on Art & Architecture that includes films about photographer Edward Burtynsky (Manufactured Landscapes) and a Norman McLaren retrospective, and Music on Film, covering everything from polka (Cult of Walt: Canada’s Polka King) to jazz (Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris) to the overlooked legend Oscar Brown Jr. (Music is my Life, Politics my Mistress) to the great tradition of Stampede Breakfasts at the recently destroyed cultural landmark, Rock Central (Breakfast at Rock Central). And if you’re feeling in the mood, there’s always Hump Night on Wednesday, September 27 – an evening devoted to the endless world of erotica… and getting it on.
While there may be no indication in the programs or on the website of whether a filmmaker is from Calgary, keep your ear to the ground and if you discover that somebody from this very city has a film in this year’s festival, go and watch it. It makes all the difference in the film world! |
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