The 6th Annual Wakefield International Film Festival (WIFF), screens at the Wakefield Centre February 7th to March 1st, 2015, and continues its tradition of offering the best in current international documentary film - with a distinctly Canadian flavour this year. WIFF takes place over four weekends.
– Scene from "Next Goal Wins"
The first weekend of WIFF 2015, February 7 & 8, filmmaker Marie-Hélène Cousineau will be present to speak with filmgoers about her film Sol(2014), co-directed with Susan Avingaq. The film investigates the suspicious death in custody of 26-year-old Inuk actor and musician Solomon Tapatiaq Uyarasak, and the alarming youth suicide rate in the Arctic region. Best Canadian Feature, 2014 Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal (RIDM). "Thoughtful, moving and beautifully rendered..." (Jason Anderson, Toronto Star) The other film that weekend, sponsored by the Wakefield General Store, is the remarkable Next Goal Wins (2014). From the UK and directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, this movie tracks the 'worst soccer team in World Cup history,' American Samoa, and their drive, with maverick Dutch coach Thomas Rongen, to win a game. (Best Documentary, British Independent Film Awards, 2014) "... this hilarious documentary is a big-hearted delight." (Andy Lea, Daily Star)
February 14 & 15 bring two intense political docs to the festival. The Secret Trial 5 (2014), a Canadian film directed by Amar Wala, is an exploration of Canada's shadowy, controversial 'security certificate,' and the five men who have spent nearly 30 combined years in our prisons, with no charges brought against them and no access to the information that has damned them to this treatment. "A Kafkaesque nightmare brought to life." (Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail) (Top Ten Audience Favourite, Hot Docs, 2014) The Green Prince(2014) a Germany/UK/Israel film directed by Nadav Schirman, tells the remarkable story of an unprecedented partnership between two sworn enemies - the son of a Hamas leader and the Shin Bet agent who risked his career to protect him. A tense psychological thriller of a documentary. (Best Documentary, World Cinema, Sundance 2014) "A harrowing tale of intrigue and betrayal, but also one of a friendship that survives despite extraordinary circumstances." (Bruce Demara, Toronto Star)
– Scene from "Keep on Keep'in On"February 21 & 22 offers two very different films. The latest from Alanis Obomsawin - who visited WIFF in 2013 - is Trick or Treaty(2014), an examination of the scattered history of Aboriginal/Canadian relations, seen through the lens of Treaty 9 - wherein sovereignty of the land may or may not have been relinquished. Particularly topical in the context of awarenessraising efforts such as Idle No More. "...truly proves Obomsawin a master of the art form... the urgency of the film is palpable." (Patrick Mullen, POV Magazine) "Absolutely essential viewing." (Nadya Domingo, Toronto Film Scene) Sponsored by Mtre Geneviève Parent. On an entirely different tack, Keep On Keepin' On(2014) an American film directed by Alan Hicks, is a personal and affecting story of jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, mentor to Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, and his latest protégé, the blind pianist Justin Kauflin. "Not just one of the year's best documentaries, it's one of the year's best pictures, period." (Pete Hammond, Movieline) (Best New Documentary Director & Audience Award, Tribeca Film Festival, 2014) And finally, the last weekend of WIFF, February 28 and March 1, WIFF offers some ruminations about where we are and what it all means, albeit in very different theme and manner. Yukon director Suzanne Crocker will speak with festival filmgoers about her film, All the Time in the World (2014). Over nine months, Crocker filmed her family - husband, three children and three pets - living off the grid, with no electricity and no access to society, in an experiment aimed at disconnecting from hectic, technology-laden lives in order to reconnect with each other and our natural environment. (Best of Festival, Wild & Scenic Film Festival; Audience Choice Award, Vancouver International Film Festival); Sponsored by CPAWS. Another Canadian film, The Price We Pay (2014), directed by Harold Crooks and sponsored at WIFF by Bean Fair and Wakefield Ensemble/Earth Day, exposes how offshore tax havens and the tech giants of the "cloud" economy are eroding democratic society. An essential primer in the widening gap between the rich and poor and corporate responsibility. "... a complex, nuanced film about a complex, nuanced situation... one of the strongest docs of the year, one that's both timely and highly provocative." (Jason Gorber, twitchfilm.com) Best Canadian Documentary, Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, 2014) The philosophy of the small, growing festival that is WIFF is to promote discussion of its films' themes and concerns, and the 2015 festival will offer many opportunities for its audiences to do just that. As mentioned, two filmmakers, Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Suzanne Crocker, are visiting the festival to take part in Q & As following each of the two screenings of their films. Panel discussions are also being organized and will be announced as they are finalized. And the relaxed, convivial atmosphere always promotes conversation. Visiting filmmakers, experts and audience members alike always remark on the unique opportunity WIFF provides for intelligent dialogue. The 6th Annual Wakefield International Film Festival runs from February 7 - March 1, 2015 at the Wakefield Centre, 38 Valley Drive, in Wakefield, QC, a lovely 20-minute drive from Ottawa. Films screen each Saturday and Sunday night at 4pm and 7:30pm. Tickets and pricing information for all WIFF 2015 screenings are available at: www.wakefieldfilmfest.ca.
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