The Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) has announced the full lineup for its 44th edition, with Sharp Corner from Nova Scotia director Jason Buxton selected as the opening night gala.
A total of 97 features and short films will be showcased at the Halifax film festival, which runs from Sept. 11 to 18. Of the films selected, 30% are from Canada’s Atlantic region, and 61% come from filmmakers who identify as women, non-binary or Black, Indigenous or a person of colour.
Newly announced world premieres out of Canada include Halifax director Kevin Hartford’s comedy To the Moon (pictured), which follows a single dad considering whether to come out in his late 30s.
The film is written and directed by Hartford and produced by Thom Fitzgerald and Doug Pettigrew of Halifax’s Emotion Pictures. It will debut as part of AIFF’s World Cinema program.
Making its world premiere in the Narrative New Waves section is director Reza Dahya’s Boxcutter (Scenario Media). The feature is written by Chris Cromie and follows an aspiring hip-hop artist over the course of a single day in Toronto.
Boxcutter is produced by Dahya and Soko Negash, with Game Theory Films on board as the Canadian distributor.
Opening title Sharp Corner (Alcina Pictures, Shut Up & Colour Pictures, Kobalt Films) is one of several Atlantic-shot features that will head to AIFF after making their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Other titles include Melanie Oates’s Sweet Angel Baby (Relatable Films), which will screen at AIFF as its Atlantic Gala, and Do I Know You From Somewhere? (Strike Pictures) from Arianna Martinez.
“There’s a bubbling talent here in the East Coast,” AIFF’s director of programming Lisa Haller tells Playback Daily. “I think we’ll see a lot more coming from the filmmakers, either through productions or coproductions here. And you’ll see them shine at not just our regional festivals, but on the international stage as well.”
Haller says the team has shifted its programming strategy to a smaller lineup of curated films (last year saw 115 films programmed in total), with a focus on showcasing East Coast talent alongside world-class cinema.
Among the high-profile titles coming to AIFF is Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anora from Sean Baker, which will run as its closing night gala, as well as Rumours (Buffalo Gal Pictures, Maze Pictures, Square Peg) from Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds (Prospero Pictures, SBS Productions, Saint Laurent Productions).
Haller says among the notable trends in the lineup this year is the number of music documentaries. The Documentary section includes several music-themed stories, including the four-part Prime Video docuseries The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal (Courage Films), which will screen in its entirety during AIFF.
“Series is not something that we typically look for at our festival, but this really stood out as an incredibly engaging, affecting piece,” says Haller. “I think it’s really going to stun some people with its archival footage and create an opportunity to celebrate this band, their music and their journey together, almost like being in a concert.”
Other Canadian music documentaries heading to AIFF are Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee’s Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Banger Films, NFB), and Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara’s Disco’s Revenge (Elevation Pictures).
As for scripted trends, Haller says she’s seeing a lot of thrillers, post-apocalyptic stories and environmentally-themed films.
Examples include R.T Thorne’s 40 Acres (Hungry Eyes Media) and Kaniehtiio Horn’s Seeds (New Real Films), which will run in Narrative New Waves, and Ann Marie Fleming’s Can I Get a Witness? (AMF Productions), part of the World Cinema lineup.
Image courtesy of AIFF