Key takeaways:
- The Festival is in its 16th year, held online for the previous two years.
- Evan Bower is the programming coordinator for The Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival.
- He states there have been big audiences this year.
The Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival is back this week for its 16th year, with in-person screenings for the first time since the pandemic started.
Evan Bower, the programming coordinator for the Festival, said there had been big audiences.
“These are the kind of movies you want to see with a crowd,” he stated. “You know, they’re very slow-paced, sometimes difficult. So it’s been wonderful to be back in the dark room, fully concentrated on the films and enjoying them with a group of people.”
The Festival that ends Sunday is screening several international films. But Saturday night will feature nine short pieces from provincial creators at their Atlantic Auteurs event.
“It’s the foundation of the Festival. It jumped out just like a local short screening series, and still, this is what lures the biggest crowd,” said Bower.
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Jenny Yujia Shi’s short animated movie This Does Not Authorize Re-entry is being screened Saturday.
The movie follows three travelers on a surreal trip. Shi used to cut paper and pictures to make the stop-motion picture.
It’s based on her experience moving from Beijing to Halifax in 2009. She went through a series of visas before gaining her permanent residency after several years.
“This movie kind of has been a perfect chance to reflect on this experience and, I think, to figure that emotionally and be ready to adopt a new or broader subject matter,” Shi said.
Tonight will be the first time Shi sees her film on the big screen. As a new filmmaker, she’s looking forward to meeting others in the industry at tonight’s event.
Source – cbc.ca
