Gimli hosts sixth annual film festival

Gimli hosts sixth annual film festival


By Jim Mosher
Friday July 28, 2006


JIM MOSHER

Interlake Spectator

— Off-the-wall, edgy, full-screen cinematic, feature-length, shorts or documentary. Viewers can expect to get their fill as the Gimli Film Festival sets sail on its sixth annual outing this Tuesday. The festival of all things celluloid runs Aug. 1-Aug. 5.
The festival continues to be a circumpolar affair, showcasing the best North America, Iceland and Europe have to offer.
The film festival began in 2000. That was fitting, notes festival producer Janis Johnson, because it was also the 1,000-year anniversary of the Viking discovery of America.
“The Gimli Film Festival is all about entertaining people; showing them films they might not know about and films they might not otherwise see,” Johnson said.
The festival boasts two venues -- one inside the Waterfront Centre in Lady of the Lake theatre, the other on Gimli Beach.
A 35-ft tall screen will be erected in the water at the Lake Winnipeg beach. After the sun sets, there will be screenings of feature-length films, including C.R.A.Z.Y., a film by Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallée and winner of Best Feature Award at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival; Beowulf and Grendel, directed by Sturla Gunnarsson; the classic Cinema Paradiso by Italian filmmaker Guiseppe Tornatore; The Festival Express, a film directed by Bob Smeaton which includes festival footage of Janis Joplin, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, The Band and Buddy Guy; and Cake, a Canada-U.S. co-production that is directed by Nisha Ganatra.
The screenings at the beach are suitable for all ages, though it’s suggested that those viewing Beowulf and Grendel be at least 14 years of age due its depiction of brutal violence. Attendance at films screened at the Lady of the Lake theatre is restricted to persons 18 years of age and older. Theatre viewings are $2, while the beach screenings are free.
The theatre showings include features, documentaries and shorts.
In the ‘documentary’ category is Guy Maddin’s 16-minute My Dad is One Hundred Years Old, which stars Isabella Rossellini, Maddin summers in Gimli and may be best-known for his offbeat classic Tales from the Gimli Hospital. Rossellini starred in Maddin’s critically-acclaimed feature-length film The Saddest Music in the World.
Gimli native Norma Bailey is also among the local talent. The highly-respected director’s feature documentary The Flying Bandit delves into the life of Ken Leishman who earned his moniker after he masterminded “several stylish and completely non-violent bank robberies during the 1960s and 1970s.” Leishman’s gold bullion heist at Winnipeg Airport may be remembered as the country’s largest and, perhaps, most audacious.
Johnson says she and festival executive director Kristine Sigurdson try to obtain films that bring a strong environmental message. That makes sense given the lakeside venues, says Johnson.
“Lake Winnipeg is very important to us,” Johnson, who as senator for the Interlake and Winnipeg, has raised concerns about the lake for almost a decade, said. “We work to promote an interest in the environment through film.”
Being Caribou is one of the films that reminds us of the intricate balance of nature -- and the human meddling that sometimes disrupts it. It features a husband and wife team -- environmentalist and filmmaker Leanne Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer -- who follow caribou through 1,500 km of remote landscape, as the animals range from their home in NWT to Alaska. It’s a trek that takes the caribou and the filmmaker across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a refuge U.S. President George W. Bush wants to open for oil drilling and exploration.
Johnson and Sigurdson say they’ve tried to showcase films that have turned heads at larger festivals while also recognizing new and up-and-coming filmmakers from Manitoba and across Canada.
Both have attended the Toronto film festival, where they came away with some of the best films screened there.
One of the TO picks was a film called Eleven Men Out, by Icelandic director Robert Douglas. It’s about a fellow who forms a gay soccer team. “The premise the film works against is that you can’t have a team of gay men playing a professional sport,” says Sigurdson. “It’s a very poignant and a very funny film.”
Now in its sixth year, the Gimli Film Festival has earned a certain panache in the filmmaking world. “We’ve got so much more credibility now,” said Sigurdson. “More filmmakers are interested in showing their work in Gimli.”
It’s not an ‘industry’ festival, said Sigurdson. The Gimli festival is more about finding a balance of new, insightful works, ones that will appeal to a wide audience.
But obtaining films for the Gimli festival is a year-round effort.
“It’s a struggle to get the films,” says Johnson. “But it’s getting better. As people turn to learn more about the world through film the easier it will be. Still, we often can’t get our hands on films till they show at larger festivals.”
Johnson and Sigurdson say they wouldn’t be able to mount the festival without strong sponsorship support from national, international and local business. Gimli Credit Union and Diageo, which owns the distillery in Gimli, and the Iceland government have always supported the effort. Other anchor sponsors include Telefilm Canada, the Government of Iceland, Larry Finnson’s Icelandic Glacial, Casinos of Winnipeg, CanWest Global and Manitoba Hydro. Supporting local sponsors include Lakeview Resort, Mermaid’s Kiss Gallery, the New Iceland Heritage Museum and Kaffe Haus. The RM of Gimli, the Embassy of Sweden, the provincial government and the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba also support the festival program.
Diageo hosts a festival opening reception at the Lakeview Resort and Conference Centre Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. People who buy a $20 Gimli Film Festival pass are welcomed to the opening.
CanWest Global presents the the CanWest Global Best Manitoba Short Award. Judged by a panel of three, the award includes a $500 prize. There were 35 entries for the award.
Kaffe Haus, on Centre St., opens a sidewalk display for promotional items, programs and tickets starting tomorrow and each day running up to and during the Gimli Film Festival. Ticket sales move to the box office at the Waterfront Centre on First Ave. at 3 p.m., when showings start at the theatre, which opens at 2:30 p.m. and closes at 11 p.m. each day of the festival.

Date change next year

As part of the evolution and growth in popularity of Gimli Film Festival, organizers plan to shift next year’s dates so they do not overlap with the August longweekend Icelandic Festival.
Next year, GFF will run during the weekend prior.
That will give town businesses an added boost, in addition to giving film festival goers added venues.
“The film festival is really coming into its own,” observes Gimli Mayor Kevin Chudd. “Moving it to its own weekend is something we’re very supportive of -- and we look forward to working with festival organizers on that.”

E-Link
gimlifilmfestival.com

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