The 2004 Atlantic Film Festival kicks off nine days in Halifax Sept. 17 with the largest lineup in the festival’s 24-year history, as well as new programs and industry events.

‘I think it’s the strongest program we’ve had in a while, if not ever,’ says festival executive director Gregor Ash.

In all, 233 films will screen this year, 47 more than last year, including 21 Canadian and nine Atlantic features. The opening gala features the Atlantic premiere of writer/director Daniel MacIvor’s Nova Scotia-shot Wilby Wonderful at Halifax’s Oxford Theatre, Sept. 17. The film makes its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Other made-in-the-Maritimes films, such as Making Love in St. Pierre, the debut feature from Newfoundland’s John Vatcher, will screen in the festival’s Atlantic Focus program, which this year includes more than 50 features, docs and shorts from Atlantic Canadian filmmakers.

Other Canadian features at AFF include Seven Times Lucky from Montreal director Gary Yates and Sarah Goodman’s doc Army of One, both of which screen in the festival’s Canadian Perspectives program, as well as Don McKellar’s feature Childstar, which screens as part of the Festival Galas program.

Celebrating the best in Canadian film, the festival is also presenting a spotlight on veteran Canadian producer/director Ivan Reitman. A retrospective of Reitman’s films, including Ghost Busters, Stripes, Twins, Dave and Six Days Seven Nights, will screen throughout the festival as part of its new Live for $5 program, which kicks off Sept. 18 with a 20th anniversary screening of Meatballs. The veteran producer/director will be honored on Sept. 19 at the festival’s Academy Luncheon, hosted by journalist Laurie Brown.

Brown also hosts a new director interview series, which includes an on-stage interview with Reitman and four additional directors, yet to be announced as Playback went to press. The new program will be open to the public, an element of the festival Ash is working to expand.

‘I’m really looking at…putting a lot of the industry events out there in front of the public,’ says Ash, who has been with the festival for nine years. ‘At most festivals, industry series tend to be just for the industry, but the public is really fascinated.’

The festival is also introducing Rogers Video Presents, a series of five special presentation screenings, including feature docs Mondovino from Jonathan Nossiter and Bob Smeaton’s Festival Express, as well as a new spotlight on gay and lesbian films.

The festival’s signature industry event, Strategic Partners, running Sept. 17-19, has grown considerably since its inception seven years ago. Conference director Jan Miller says this year there’s a stronger Canadian presence than ever before, with representatives from across the country, including Vancouver-based Haddock Entertainment, Winnipeg’s Original Pictures, Toronto’s Shaftesbury Films and Halifax’s own Idlewild Films.

‘The goal of Strategic Partners this year is dialogue. So my focus for the panels is to get producers talking to producers about what we can do to improve the odds for coproduction and coventuring,’ says Miller.

For the second year, Strategic Partners will focus on coproduction opportunities with the U.K. and Ireland as well as coventuring relationships with the U.S.

‘Being able to build from one year to the next is remarkable,’ says Miller, explaining that after conducting an extensive exit survey on last year’s conference, it was clear that participants and stakeholders, including Telefilm Canada, were eager to revisit the focus on these international partners.

Guest speakers at the conference include Paul Brett of U.K.-based Prescience Film Financing, which is a funder of Terry Gilliam’s new feature, Tideland, which starts shooting in Saskatchewan Sept. 27.

Anthony Bregman, whose recent productions include Thumbsucker (2004), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Lovely & Amazing (2001), will also be speaking about how compromise can be a deficit if conducted at the end of a project, but an art form if done at the beginning.

Looking forward to its 25th anniversary next year, the AFF has recently conducted several months of research and meetings to develop a five-year strategic plan, which will determine the future direction of the festival.

‘We have a very strong national and international reputation,’ says Ash. ‘We’re a boutique festival because of the size of the market. The question now is could we become the best boutique festival.’

-www.atlanticfilm.com