The 15th annual Yellowknife International Film Festival opened Nov. 3.
For festival director Jeremy Emerson, it’s all good.
“We’ve come a long way and hope to see many more years, continue to see more Northern content showing up in the programs. So yeah, I’m pretty happy about that,” said Emerson.
The event had to go virtual this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, however there will be some in-person aspects to it according to Emerson.
“It’s a little too late to try and schedule a venue for these dates, but we will be announcing shortly here in the next couple of days workshops that will be in person at the end of the month. So the details will be coming out soon,” said Emerson.
Emerson was able to offer a few details of what to expect though.
“There will be a pitch competition,” began Emerson. “A table read that will hopefully have an audience and or live broadcast, actors reading local scripts and putting that on.
“And, you know, some industry based workshops that are more detail specific but yeah, that will come out,” said Emerson.
This year’s festival lineup includes 10 features, close to 40 short films and other content added over the course of four days, closing Nov. 7.
The festival includes 12 filmed-in-the-NWT productions, with 11 being short films (including one from Yellowknife’s Miranda Currie) and one feature film, titled ‘Food for the Rest of Us’ from NWT filmmaker/director Caroline Cox.
For those interested, Emerson recommends guest passes as the most economical way to access all that the event has to offer.
Full passes are $75, half-passes give guests six screenings for $40.
Those who purchased a festival pass before Nov. 3 can win one of 15 prize packages — containing a $50 gift certificate to one of 15 Yellowknife restaurants and other treats — provided by the NWT Film Commission.
“…so that you can enjoy dinner with your movie this year,” a film festival news release stated.