Wakefield Doc Fest Prepares to Open 9th Annual Festival

Wakefield Doc Fest Prepares to Open its 9th Annual Festival February 3rd through March 4th 2018 Variety is the catchword for the lineup in Wakefield Doc Fest's 9th Annual Festival, screening at the Centre Wakefield La Pěche, 38 chemin de la Vallée de Wakefield, in beautiful downtown Wakefield. Fourteen films in 22 screenings over the five weekends of the fest, February 3rd through March 4th, 2018. Check out the electronic version of the program accompanying this press release or online here for the full lineup and show times. It all starts off with the February 3rd, 2pm screening – free! – of the extraordinary and beautiful film JANE, an Oscar™- nominated feature about the early life and work of Jane Goodall, with never-beforeseen footage from the National Geographic filmmaker who went out to film her in the bush in Tanzania, and an evocative soundtrack from Philip Glass. Then, there is a rich offering of top, fresh, international and Canadian documentary films over the following four weekends. Extraordinary portraits of artists. Affecting stories of social justice issues, political corruption, the hypocrisy of the financial/political system. Two very different tales of climate change and effects already being felt on the land: one from a small holding African farmer with a family to feed; one from an exceptional, trailblazing winemaker in Burgundy – who was originally from Québec. And frites – we haven't forgotten the frites! There's even a little room left for poignancy and nostalgia. WDF 2018 features a Main Series of eight films, plus a special Québec Directors Saturday Matinée Series, the Special Event screening of JANE plus a very exciting Closing Gala at the Black Sheep – details to follow. All are films chosen on individual merit, the beauty of their images, the depth and compassion in the storytelling. Remarkable examples of the beauty of the documentary film, these films show us our humanity, record our concerns and issues, allow us a bit of time in a frenetic world to ponder this or that theme or issue or story. The value of the documentary is to provide us with just that. Wakefield Doc Fest also aims to augment the documentary viewing experience with director visits, presentations, panel discussions, and the like. Our first of these will be the attendance of Stacey Tenenbaum, director of SHINERS, for the Festival Gala at 7:30pm on Saturday, February 10th. One of the Globe and Mail's Top Ten films of 2017 and a Québec Premiere at Wakefield, SHINERS looks into the life and work of shoe shiners on four continents in a life-affirming exploration of a mostly overlooked and sometimes looked-down-upon profession. To keep up-to-date with goings-on at the festival, please check out our website (above) or join the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WakefieldDocFest/ The full festival program is available here Wakefield Doc Fest takes place at the Centre Wakefield La Pěche, 38 ch de la Vallée de Wakefield, in beautiful downtown Wakefield. Single tickets are $15 and are available online and at the door before each screening. Weekend passes are $40 for three films; a festival pass is $150. All prices include taxes. All are available at wakefielddocfest.ca