Staff
Surrounded by red and white cupcakes, and Canada Day good cheer, the Meaford International Film Festival took centre stage in the big tent in Market Square on July 1 to announce its 10th anniversary season.
“From September 1 to September 4our films will cover a wide range of subjects”, said Artistic Director Christopher Thomas, “but the unifying theme is ‘the joy of finding yourself and doing what it takes to make that dream come true, starting with our new addition to the line-up, the ‘MIFF Classic‘.”
The MIFF Classic is a one-time–only matinee on opening day. A chance to see an award–winning film again, or perhaps for the first time.
This year it’s Kinky Boots, the film that inspired the smash hit musical. Based on a true story, the movie follows a strait–laced shoe factory owner in the U.K. who saves his struggling business by partnering with a flamboyant transvestite cabaret star. The result is Kinky Boots and powerful insights. “A blend of trash and sass that is a comfy fit”, according to Rolling Stone Magazine.
It also fits perfectly with the opening night Gala presentation: The Danish Girl. An extraordinary love story, a visual feast, and a testament to the courage of a transgender pioneer, all in one remarkable film based on a true story that is even more topical today than it was in the 1930s.
Winner of 27 awards including the Oscar for Best Supporting actress, the film was inspired by the novel written by David Ebershoff, who will fly up from New York especially for MIFF to talk about the film, his research and its relevance to today’s headlines.Jessica’s Book Nook of Thornbury will also be there selling copies of the novel, which Mr. Ebershoff would be happy to sign.
Friday, September 2 offers what the San Francisco Chronicle called“a funny, edgy, engaging tale”, The Second Mother.
A heart-warming story from Brazil that also cleverly exposes the reality of the class system at work, as Val, a middle–aged maid in the rich district of Sao Paolo discovers she is not really ‘part of the family‘. Sparks fly and lives are radically changed. The director, Anna Muylaert, will join the MIFF audience via Skype to talk about her inspiration and how this comedy-drama changed the law in Brazil.
On Saturday, September 3, Dheepan is a film that takes you behind the headlines of a story that has dominated everything from Brexit to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and immigration. What happens to the millions who flee conflict zones to find new homes in the cities of the West? For a Tamil family at the centre of this Palme d’Or winner, conflict is never far behind. Once settled in the outskirts of Paris, they must use their hard-won survival skills to navigate their crime-ridden housing complex and answer the question: what makes a home? A piece of “passionate, intensely focused, first-rate film-making“, according to This is London.
Owen Sound’s Andy Foster will discuss the film in relation to her 14 years of experience working with refugees in North Africa (including war-torn Darfur). She now counsels refugee sponsors and runs an ESL school.
The Closing Gala presentation is Mustang. A winner of 30 awards and short–listed for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Set in rural Turkey, the Las Vegas Weekly called it a “wonderfully refreshing experience“. It is a tender, funny and sometimes a painful portrait of five sisters seen innocently playing with boys on a beach. Their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged. As the eldest sisters are married off, the younger ones bond together to rebel and determine their own lives – a powerful portrait of female empowerment, and a stunning performance. Because this is the closing gala presentation there is no matinee performance the next day.
The MIFF motto is “Four Nights, Four Films, Four Parties, Four Dinners” and that includes catered meals before each show. The meals are prepared and served by a different local establishment each evening. Andrews Roots will serve on Thursday, September 1, followed by The Kitchen on Friday, September 2, The Dam Pub from Thornbury on Saturday, September 3, and finally Captain’s Corner on Sunday, September 4. You can also sample their free horsd’oeuvres at the after–party, and maybe take home a valuable trivia quiz prize basket.
The Meaford Hall Arts & Cultural Centre is the proud presenter of MIFF. Tickets for the films and parties are available from the Meaford Hall Box Office from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm daily or by phone 1-877-538-0463. Matinees begin at 1:30 pm, the evening show start at 7pm, and all are showcased in the renovated Meaford Hall Opera House, 12 Nelson St. E. For more information check the MIFF website atwww.meafordfilmfest.ca
For more information contact Bethany Rupp, info@mhcfoundation.ca or 519.538.1640
