Andrew Connors has you in mind. All of you. And it isn’t even creepy.
Well some of it is — like Upstream Colour — but most of it is just harmless fun.
“Diversity in programming was the point,” says the Yukon Film Society’s executive director about this fall’s Available Light Cinema roster. “We are trying for a balance between artistically driven work that exposes the community to different ideas and crowd pleasers, that everyone can enjoy… and that help pay the bills.”
This year’s line-up of 13 films covers a variety of genres and styles, targeting all ages.
A new generation of kids will get to see E.T. on the big screen as well as catch a “real” cat burglar in A Cat in Paris. There is a period piece, Renoir, en Français, with English subtitles. And Don McKellar stars in Highway 61, part two of Bruce McDonald’s road trilogy.
You can see 56 Up, the latest installment of the Up documentary series that has been visiting a group of British children (now adults) at seven-year intervals since 1964. Documentary lovers will also get a fix with Terms and Conditions May Apply, which shows us what governments and corporations learn from our personal information on the net. Also hitting the screen is Status Quo, The Unfinished Business of Feminism, a Quebec film produced by the National Film Board that won the World Documentary Award at the Whistler Film Festival last year. Connors is so enthusiastic about presenting it that it will be followed by a panel discussion.
“It is the type of film that is not likely to be available many places, so this is a great way to provide the community an opportunity to see it.”
For a local connection there is a free screening of Shipyards Lament as part of Culture Days. Wear a wool sweater and dust off your toque; it’s playing in Shipyards Park at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27.
If words like “postmodern” and “ethnographic” give you a rush consider trying True Stories. It’s directed by David Byrne of Talking Heads fame and according to Connors, “it’s funny, relevant and really stood out.”
For a retro thrill pull out your Canadian flag and go see Across this Land with Stompin’ Tom Connors. And if you are hip and young or a sci-fi enthusiast you won’t want to miss Upstream Colour which Connors figures will draw-out the under-30 crowd.
Finally, Still Mine is based on the true story of a New Brunswick farmer who uses his carpentry skills for good but runs afoul of the law nevertheless. Morals, laws, love, scenery, stubborn old people –— this movie has it all.
One of the biggest challenges in bringing films to the Yukon is the lack of gear. Equipment must be rented from Vancouver to show many of the films that they bring up. They are saving up to buy the equipment but they have a ways to go.
Donations to the Yukon Film Society from film lovers will not go unappreciated.
For details on the full line up and to buy tickets go to www.yukonfilmsociety.com/schedule.
