The Milton Film Festival has announced the eight feature films which will be screened at the fifth annual event over the weekend of January 26-28, 2018 at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton.
The film line-up was officially unveiled at a press event on Wednesday, November 29th at the Sixteen Mile Arts Photography Gallery in downtown Milton. The unique venue was chosen because it was the location of Milton’s very first movie theatre – The Princess (later The Roxy), which opened in 1912.
The list of eight feature films was revealed by Jennifer Smith, director and committee chair for the Festival, starting with the Opening Night Gala Feature, BREATHE. The impressive directorial debut of actor Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes), Breathe stars Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Spiderman) and Claire Foy (The Crown) as a couple whose lives are changed forever when one is stricken with polio
“We are very fortunate to be able to bring this remarkable film to Milton as it only just had its debut at TIFF a couple of months ago”, Smith pointed out. She also suggested that audience members pack extra tissues as the film has been described as a “three hanky movie”.
Saturday’s Gala Feature is the acclaimed documentary DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME, about a forgotten cache of early silent films found preserved in the permafrost in Canada’s Yukon Territory. With very little narration and set to a mesmerizing score by Alex Somers, the film uses this recovered footage to truly capture the awe and wonder of our earliest experiences with motion pictures.
In addition to revealing the eight feature films, Smith announced the attendance of actress Michelle McLeod, star of the Canadian comedy, DON’T TALK TO IRENE, in her breakout role as an overweight teenager with dreams of becoming a cheerleader. Pending final confirmation, the young Peterborough native is slated to participate in a Q&A session after the film.
Additional guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
Other feature films announced were:
LUCKY – the final performance of beloved character actor Harry Dean Stanton, as a 91 year old atheist in an off-the-map desert town.
BRIGSBY BEAR – a unique and heartwarming festival hit about a sheltered young man trying to cope with the outside world by recreating his favourite TV show.
LOVING VINCENT – the world’s first oil painted animated film, about a young man who finds himself investigating the final days of Vincent Van Gogh.
C’EST LA VIE – an all out comedy about the wedding from hell, from acclaimed French directing duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano (The Intouchables, Samba).
To announce the final film, Smith handed the podium over to Milton filmmaker Jawad Mir, director of the documentary feature ONLY 78 – the story of a small Cape Breton village trying to convince the government to help replace their crumbling sea wall, which is all that stands between them and the increasingly dangerous ocean at their doorstep. The film will be sponsored by Halton GreenScreens.
“We are immensely proud to be able to showcase the work of talented local filmmakers like Jawad Mir at the Milton Film Festival”, said Smith. “This is a big part of the reason why we do what we do”.
As part of the Festival’s year-long celebration of the early history of film, an exhibit of reproduction Victorian animation devices was on display for the evening, and the media announcement was followed by a special screening of the film EADWEARD, a Canadian drama based on the eccentric life and pioneering work of Victorian photographer Eadweard Muybridge, dubbed the ‘Godfather of Cinema’.
The Festival’s selection of short films by local and regional filmmakers, to be screened with the features, will be announced at a later date.
The announcement below
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