The FIN Atlantic International Film Festival has unveiled its full lineup, with a handful of Canadian films setting their world debuts.

The annual Halifax event will run from Sept. 15 to 22, with 178 films from nearly 30 countries selected for in-person screenings, and 77 also available digitally via FIN Stream.

There are six Canadians films making a world premiere during FIN, according to the festival programmers. That includes Halifax-based filmmaker Koumbie’s scripted feature Bystanders, one of the festival’s special presentations. The film is directed by Koumbie, who co-wrote it with Taylor Olson, and is produced by Terry Greenlaw of Halifax prodco Picture Plant. It is set during a reunion of childhood friends at a secluded getaway.

Crave original documentary REVIVAL69: The Concert that Rocked the World will also have its world debut at FIN. Directed by Ron Chapman and written by Phyllis Ellis, the doc explores rock and roll history with a famed Toronto concert that served as John Lennon’s first on-stage performance without the Beatles. Chapman is also a producer alongside Trish Dolman of Vancouver’s Screen Siren Pictures and Sally Blake of French prodco Films A Cinq.

Photon Films handles theatrical distribution for the film in Canada. In addition to Crave, the doc has also been acquired by ARTE for France and Germany.

Fritz Mueller’s doc Voices Across the Water, produced by his banner Sagafish and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), also makes its world bow. The doc examines the work of master boat builders, and is produced by Mueller and Teresa Earle for Sagafish and the NFB’s Shirley Vercruysse.

The NFB is also bringing Prajwala Dixit’s short film love, amma to world premiere at the festival, which is produced by Annette Clarke.

The other scripted Canadian feature with a world bow at FIN is Lemon Squeezy, a comedy about romance, religion and the end of the world, which is written, directed and produced by Halifax’s Kevin Hartford. Rounding out the debuts are two documentaries – The Work, directed Daniel MacIvor and produced by Marcie Januska and Kaija Siirala, which follows a personal story about an artist’s theatre process; and You Can Call Me Roger, written and directed by Jon Mann and produced by Galen Augustine and Tom Mann, which documents the life of former Assembly of First Nations regional Chief Roger Joseph Augustine.

Clement Virgo’s Brother, which is set to world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, was selected as FIN’s opening title. The closing feature is Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, starring Brendan Fraser.

Image courtesy of FIN Atlantic