Due to the catastrophic events that have taken place in the U.S., the 26th Atlantic Film Festival has been forced to change its film lineup and some events, but organizers assure that, despite some faulty media reports, the festival is taking place as planned Sept. 14-22 in Halifax.

‘We are going ahead,’ confirms AFF communications manager Ivy Ho. ‘It’s going to be difficult because we have to juggle things around, but for everyone’s sake it’s going through.’

According to festival producers, a total of 17 film prints will likely be unable to find their way to Halifax by air (in addition to two previously cancelled screenings) for their intended dates. These film include Wild Iris, Sunshine Hotel, Bird in the Wire, Skin Deep and MacArthur Park. Three festival jury members, actors Gordon Pinsent and Liane Balaban (both flying in from Toronto), and Scotland-based Stuart Banyard, distribution manager for Scottish Screen, are unable to arrive in Halifax in time to take part in the judging, thus canceling the film competition and awards reception for this year.

In addition, festival delegates from Spain and Latin America will be unable to attend the Strategic Partners event, which has been postponed. The Harold Greenberg Fund Script Pitch and Scripts Out Loud programs have also been postponed.

The AFF, revered for its easygoing take on the international film fest circuit, will still open with the Big Pictures/Pope Productions coproduction of Sturla Gunnarsson’s Rare Birds. At press time, a print of the film was being driven to Halifax from Toronto to make it in time for the opening-night gala. Produced by St. John’s filmmaker Paul Pope, Rare Birds features William Hurt as a restaurateur who stages a phony sighting of a rare bird to attract patrons.

The closing gala will be director Zacharias Kunuk’s Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), winner of this year’s Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It is the first feature-length dramatic film produced by the Canadian Inuit.

About 190 films are still scheduled to screen at the festival, which has unquestionably become more about the films and less about festival pageantry in this difficult time. Still, other events scheduled are reportedly a go, like parties and film receptions, but may be subject to change depending on the severity and scope of what is happening elsewhere in the world.

For further updates on cancelled and rescheduled events and screenings, visit the AFF website at www.atlanticfilm.com.