After 10 days of glitzy galas, stargazing nights and oversubscribed media screenings, the 22nd annual Atlantic Film Festival, running in Halifax Sept. 13-21, offers a welcome respite from the hectic pace of the Toronto International Film Festival.

‘After the flurry of the Toronto festival,’ says AFF director Lia Rinaldo, ‘our festival often provides the first opportunity for filmmakers to really relax in front of an audience and they usually have access to some of the key folks out of Toronto in a smaller atmosphere.’

Recognized as a filmmaker’s festival – an event where directors, writers, producers, cast and crew can screen their films, small or large, in an intimate and celebratory environment – this year’s AFF lineup is a testament to the maturing film industry in Atlantic Canada.

‘We have a mandate to further a film culture in Atlantic Canada and create very real opportunities for our filmmakers,’ says Gregor Ash, AFF executive director. ‘I think you could go back and track the growth of the industry in Atlantic Canada and that of the film festival and [you would] find that the trends match.’

Unlike TIFF, with its international and national focus, the AFF provides real opportunities for regional filmmakers. For example, the fifth annual Strategic Partners conference (Sept. 14-15), Canada’s only conference on coproduction, focusing this year on partnership opportunities between Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well as the U.K., reserves its first round of one-on-one pitch sessions with commissioning broadcasters and distributors for Atlantic filmmakers.

There is a marked increase in the volume of Atlantic work, particularly features, screening at this year’s AFF. Atlantic features that make their world debut in Halifax include Touch and Go, a first feature from Halifax filmmaker Scott Simpson, produced by Chronicle Pictures and exec produced by Bill Niven of Idlewild Films, as well as Dying Fall, a digital film from Will Fraser. Of the 16 Atlantic features in the festival this year, four come from first-time filmmakers.

From a total of 215 films that will screen in Halifax, 66 out of 135 submissions are from Atlantic Canada, up from 50 last year. There are an additional 60 from other regions in Canada for a total of more than 120 homegrown films. Even TIFF saw a marked increase in Atlantic films this year, with five showcasing in the Perspective Canada program, up from two the previous year.

Eighteen of the Atlantic films screening at this year’s AFF come from the National Film Board, six of which are world premieres. Tom Perlmutter, director general of English programming, says that in response to the growing Atlantic industry, the NFB is increasing its presence in Halifax. The film board is expanding its regional office to include a screening facility and plans to place another NFB producer in Halifax whose mission will be to increase production and extend links to Atlantic independent filmmakers.

‘In recognition of the breadth of talent there, we want to strike deeper roots in Atlantic Canada.’ says Perlmutter. ‘The Atlantic filmmaking community has become a thriving and important community and the film board’s increased recognition and connection to Atlantic Canada is a sign of the maturity of the film industry there.’

Among the NFB films making their world premieres at the festival are Halifax filmmaker Connie Littlefield’s Hofmann’s Potion, exploring the early days of LSD research, and Teresa MacInnes’ Learning Peace, which looks at how a Nova Scotia elementary school is dealing with bullying.

Despite a focus on the Atlantic and homegrown industries, the AFF continues to expand its international components.

One of the industry highlights at AFF 2002 is a two-day focus on coventure opportunities with the U.S., an oft-neglected issue as the U.S. is not included among Canada’s more than 50 international coproduction treaties.

‘When we were doing research for this year’s Strategic Partners conference, a lot of people asked us why we can’t do a focus on strategic partnerships with Canada and the U.S.,’ says Ash.

The two-day spotlight on Sept. 17 and 18 is devoted to film and television coventure opportunities between Canada and the U.S. as the growing importance of international coproduction models begs questions regarding the barriers and inducements to partnering with Americans. It is funded through the International Business Development Agreement between the four Atlantic provinces and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, which distributes federal funds to business development in the Maritimes.

AFF’s focus on the U.S. makes its opening film, Bowling for Columbine, all the more apt, not only because the satirical doc from American filmmaker Michael Moore (Roger and Me, Canadian Bacon, The Awful Truth) is funded through Halifax’s Salter Street Films, but also because it specifically addresses the relationships between Canadians and our neighbors to the south. Halifax prodco imX communications’ Julie Walking Home, distributed through Film Tonic in Montreal and directed by Agnieszka Holland (The Secret Garden), will close the festival on the Sept. 21.

-www.atlanticfilm.com