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Indie Films Fernie sees success

Over one hundred gather for indie film screening.

Indie Films Fernie (IFF) screened Into the Forest to a full house of 140 people on Nov. 6. According to the marketing and communications coordinator for IFF and the Reel Canadian Film Festival, Keya White, one of the reasons the film was selected was because of its filming location.

“We selected "Into the Forest" as our Canadian selection for our Fall 2016 line-up because it was filmed on B.C.'s west coast, it features Canadian actress Ellen Page and was directed by Canadian director/writer Patricia Rozema. Additionally, it is based on the popular novel by the same name by author Jean Hegland, which many Elk Valley residents have read,” she said. "Into the Forest takes place in a not-so-distant possible future scenario that sees the end of access to electricity, fuel and everything we tend to take for granted in modern society. We thought our attendees would find these topics interesting to contemplate and watch on the big screen.”

From what White has heard, the event was well received.

“Those that had read the novel said that Into the Forest was a good adaptation of the book. Those that hadn't read the book enjoyed the film saying that it was an interesting and intense film with great cinematography and a believable storyline,” she said. “IFF's Fall 2016 season has been really well received so far. This season we changed our film day/screening time to the first Sunday of the month at 5pm. We kicked off the season with "Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame" which had director Tony Girardin in attendance. All of our first three films have been well attended and we are appreciative of our audience supporting the new day and time.”

White believes that while this is in line with previous years, some new offerings have made the current year’s events even better.

“The past few years have seen a great response and turn out to our films and this season seems to be as popular as ever despite the day/time change. The new day/time has also given us the opportunity to offer a new program to IFF attendees, ‘Dinner and a Movie’,” she said. “We are partnering with local restaurants so that after each IFF film, attendees can visit local participating restaurants to receive a special promotion there - by presenting their ticket stub to their server. Big thanks to our participating restaurants; The Bridge Bistro, Boston Pizza and the Park Place Pub for coming on board the program so far. If you are a restaurant that is interested in taking part for an upcoming film(s), simply visit our website, check out the details there and contact us to sign up.”

It’s not the end of the IFF’s season yet, with the next event on Dec. 4.

“Our [next] film is Dheepan which won the Palme d’Or (2015) at Cannes and examines what happens to the millions of migrants who flee conflict zones to find new homes in cities of the west. We felt it was a relevant and timely selection for our foreign feature of the season. On an international level, this film has won 6 awards to date and been nominated for another 12 awards. It was directed by the popular French director/screenwriter Jaques Audiard, who brought us Rust and Bone, one of our IFF films from a few seasons ago.”

For more information, White encourages people to check out the website Reelfilmfest.ca.

“Watch your mailboxes in December for our IFF Winter Season rack card and keep your eye on our website for the latest info on films and events. We're also on facebook and instagram too. And exciting news, we are currently selecting our line-up for our 9th Annual Reel Canadian Film Festival, so mark your calendars for the weekend of January 20 - 22, 2017. Early bird full festival passes are now available at the Arts Station for just $30/each until December 23,” White said.