A coming-of-age.
A fallout from a father’s suicide years ago.
A struggle between cultural values and the longing to escape a small town.
A controversial child soldier and a mother and son’s journey to survive.
These are the basis of six motion pictures, all captured within the past year or so and told on Canadian soil.
They are also the six narratives that will be presented at this year’s Port Moody Canadian Film Festival, a three-day event at the Inlet Theatre in Port Moody and sponsored in part by The Tri-City News.
The six flicks were selected for the Toronto International Film Festival based on their compelling craftsmanship; since then, they have gone on to win numerous awards around the world, including an Oscar at last month’s ceremonies in Los Angeles.
Their tales have a universal reach because of their universal themes: loneliness and love, hardship and friendship, and the need for something greater.
Yet Josh Cabrita, the artistic director for the 16th annual Port Moody festival, also found another thread to the six movies he picked.
“There is definitely a feminist theme happening,” he said outside Inlet Theatre, where the festival begins Thursday. “I didn’t intend it that way but female strength definitely plays a starring role in this year’s movies.”
Take, for example, the opener (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) of The Loved Ones, a film nominated for seven Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) this weekend. It follows the lives of David and his daughter Laurence, as they uncover the reason behind his father’s suicide years ago.
Friday night is a double bill starting at 7 p.m. with Felix and Meira, which is up for five CSA. It speaks of a forbidden love between an atheist and married Hasidic Jewish mother, who is in search of a new adventure; it is nominated for five CSA.
At 9:30 p.m. is Bang Bang Baby, the feature debut by director Jeffrey St. Jules. A sci-fi musical, it’s set in the fictional Canadian town of Lonely Arms where a high-school girl who cares for her alcoholic father yearns to flee her misery with a heartthrob singer.
Saturday is also a double bill starting at 7 p.m. with Guantanamo’s Child, a documentary about child soldier Omar Khadr that is based on Michelle Shephard’s book (she also directed and produced the film). It is followed by Sleeping Giant, a film that follows the summer ramblings of three teenage boys — two of whom are competing for the attention of the same girl. It is nominated for four CSA.
And finally, on Sunday at 7 p.m., there’s Room, the Academy Award-nominated blockbuster that won the star, Brie Larson, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics’ Choice Award this year for her portrayal of a mother trapped in an underground room with her five-year-old son. It is up for 11 CSA.
The Port Moody Canadian Film Festival’s wrap up party is at 9 p.m. in the Galleria, with the People’s Choice Award announced and a prize handed out to a contest winner.
Still, it’s not just features that will be on show.
Cabrita, who is also the weekly film critic for CKPM-FM 98.7 and is on the screening committee for the Vancouver International Film Festival, has lined up a short film to precede each feature — some of which will include appearances by the cast and/or crew.
• Tickets (cash or cheque only) for the Port Moody Canadian Film Festival are $7 per screening plus a $5 society annual membership (good until Dec. 31). Visit pmfilm.ca.
