Films announced for WIFF

by Tom Morrison

Organizers of the Windsor International Film Festival will be opening the event a day earlier this year to accommodate for the closing of Palace Cinemas.

Now in its eighth year, the festival will feature 52 films solely at the Capitol Theatre & Arts Centre from Nov. 7 to 11. Some of the movies include the Matthew McConaughey-starring Killer Joe, Amour from Austrian director Machael Haneke and Riot, which was filmed in Windsor.

Since its beginning the festival held some movie screenings at the Palace, but the theatre closed in January. The building is being reconstructed and will be the future location of The Windsor Star, which is one of the festival’s producers this year. WIFF marketing director Vincent Georgie said they were prepared for the closing of the Palace because they knew last year would be the final opportunity to use the cinema.

“Our home has always been the Capitol, no question,” Georgie said. “What we’ve done to offset for some of the demand is we’re opening the festival a day earlier this year, so we open on a Wednesday. We’ve got a full Thursday ahead of us and also many more daytime screenings and late evening screenings, so that way it actually balances out.”

The film festival has shown movies that eventually won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, including last year’s winner, A Separation from Iran. This year the festival will screen the foreign language submissions from Austria, Germany, France, Canada and Denmark.

At a press conference at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts Oct. 23, executive director Peter Coady said WIFF has always been a part of the revitalization of downtown Windsor.

“From the very beginning, our mandate of course has been to enrich the cultural life of the city of Windsor and Essex County,” said Coady. “The initial founders of the festival were also concerned with the revitalization of the downtown Windsor. Look at where it has come in eight years. It was an idea, it was an ideal and it is becoming real.”

Pre-festival events include screenings of short films made by post-secondary students from Windsor and Detroit and a private educational event for high school students. Coady said these events, along with business sponsorships, have made this year’s festival a collaborative project.

“I’m just glad that the educational institutions like St. Clair College, University of Windsor, the Greater-Essex County District School Board have come together, along with business and representatives from the arts in the city to make this a reality,” said Coady. “I’m happy about that. Everybody’s included.”

 

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