2024 marks the 21st year I’ve attended the Atlantic International Film Festival, formerly FIN, formerly the Atlantic Film Festival, and almost 20 since I’ve been covering it as an arts journalist.

I’ve seen it swell to a massive, 10 day festival with hundreds of movies and red carpet events attended by a constellation of stars, and shrink back to a more manageable seven days, offering a smaller but no less impressive selection of feature films to enjoy.

Amongst the international films screening, All We Imagine As Light, Caught By The Tides (Feng liu yi dai), Girl With The Needle and Seeds of the Sacred Fig are on my radar. Documentaries Dahomey, Disco’s Revenge, Never Look Away, and Made In England: The Films Of Powell And Pressburger definitely have my interest, and amongst the many others, Flow, The Outrun, Presence, Universal Language, Sweet Angel Baby, and Anora are all on my list to see.

One of the lessons of films festivals, though: You can never see everything you’re hoping to. I’m thrilled the AIFF has programmed a bunch of encore screenings to improve the odds. While you’re reading this I’m in Toronto attending TIFF, which means I’ll have the chance to see a few features that will also appear at AIFF before I get back to Halifax, including Sharp Corner and The Apprentice.

I’ve also had the pleasure of watching a few AIFF films in advance. Please see my capsule reviews below:

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story | Directed by Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Michael Mabbott

A documentary produced by the National Film Board in partnership with Canadian music doc masters Banger Films (Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey), its story is a stunner. Jackie Shane was a jazz sensation in the 1960s, singing in Montreal, Toronto, and Nashville. She could’ve been even bigger, but folks at the Ed Sullivan Show, for example, wouldn’t put her on the air. That’s because she was trans.

In 1971 Jackie left the spotlight and went back to a life away from performing, but the filmmakers tracked her down and interviewed her over the phone as she was preparing a comeback, and they also spoke to family members in order to paint a picture of what her life was like — it must have been difficult, but she was an amazing talent and the evidence is in her recordings and in the testimony of the people who knew her and saw her perform. She died before this film was released.

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is surprising, gripping, and creative — with excellent use of archival footage and imagery along with rotoscopic animation in the reenactments to bring the audience in.

Lakeview | Written and Directed by Tara Thorne 

Tara is a friend, so I’m locked down by a conflict of interest — there’s no way I can offer an unbiased review of her film. What I will say is it’s a treat to see her progress from her first feature, Compulsus, and give us a dramedy about a group of old friends and lesbians at a cottage relitigating shared histories while also making new memories. It’s hilarious, affecting, and beautifully performed, so maybe just go see it and then we can talk.

Monica’s News | Written and Directed by Pamela Gallant 

A first feature for Gallant, perhaps best known for her work to date as an editor, it conjures a small town vibe and a mid-’70s summery idyll through the eyes of a child. Casey (Polly Gallant-Mclean, no relation to the filmmaker) is keen to show she can handle a paper deliver route, even though her older boy cousin gives her plenty of grief. She’s inspired by her more-friendly teen cousin Monica (Elisa Paszt), a burgeoning feminist and frustrated by the small-minded sexism she witnesses in her community. This while Monica’s religious father, Chester (Kevin Kincaid), beats her.

When Monica vanishes, Casey is sure she knows who’s responsible, and the movie gives her plenty of credence. It’s a choice not to make this a real mystery — other boys and men could easily have been blamed, but the film is more concerned about Casey’s loss of innocence as a witness to adult violence and hypocrisy. In that it delivers.

Paying For It | Directed by Sook-Yin Lee | Written by Lee and Joanne Sarazen

This an adaptation of Toronto cartoonist Chester Brown’s autobiographic novel. After breaking up with his girlfriend (former MuchMusic VJ  and CBC Radio host Sook-Yin Lee) in the late 1990s he didn’t want to be in another monogamous relationship. Instead he started to see sec workers — the comic documents his experiences as a john. Lee directs — she’s now an artist, musician, actor (Close To You) and filmmaker (Year Of The Carnivore), who of course is a big part of this story — though maybe not the most obvious choice to tell it.

The film features a fictionalized version of Lee, Sonny (Emily Lê), whose character arc runs throughout. Her connection with Chester (Dan Beirne) is the key relationship here, even as she goes through a series of new boyfriends (while Chester is still living in the house, having moved down to the basement) and Chester visits a parade of sex workers. The lack of judgement between the characters is a delight, as are scenes where Chester is revealed to be a particularly unadventurous lover. Chester’s cartoonist friends are the only ones who really give him grief, but then they all browbeat each other.

The film’s tone is very matter-of-fact, underlaid with deadpan humour and a real care to set it in place — not since Twitch City has Toronto’s Kensington Market been showered with this kind of love. Nice choice of Sneaky Dees as a location, a bar and restaurant that hasn’t changed at all in 30 years. We do get a fair amount of nudity but not Shortbus explicit, to name another fascinating picture Lee was a part of. Will be interested to hear her talk about it — Lee will be at the AIFF on Friday to discuss her approach to making the film.

Reinas | Directed by Klaudia Reynicke-Candeloro | Written by Reynicke-Candeloro and Diego Vega Vidal

This is about a Peruvian family in the 1990s, a mother and two daughters where the mother has a job opportunity in the States, and the father, who has been mostly absent and is a teller of tall tales, wants to spend some time with his kids before they leave. Reinas means “queens,” which is what he calls his girls.

The intimacy of this family drama and the performances work, especially the young actors. While the family story is charming, more interesting is its historical and political subtext. The backdrop of economic troubles in Peru suggests the bones of a thriller, which never quite emerges.

The Atlantic International Film Festival runs from September 11 to 18 at the Park Lane Cinema in Halifax. Hope to see you there!