Well, that’s my 20th Atlantic International Film Festival in the books as a film journalist, my 22nd just attending — I remember seeing Lost In Translation at my first back in 2003 back when it was just the AFF, before it became something called FIN. Good times.
The 45th annual festival was a very good time. I love the sense of community that comes with the festival, the sense that everyone in Halifax, for at least the length of the festival, cares about obscure Canadian and international features and documentaries — it’s the same feeling the crew at Carbon Arc Cinema is trying to foster over the rest of the year. I’d be willing to bet more people moved through the Park Lane cinemas in the past week than in the past six months. The lounge fixings — lamps, rugs, chairs, and chaise longues — Cineplex should really keep those. It’s such a good idea.
I have colleagues and friends who saw more than I did — coming off of TIFF I don’t go as hard at AIFF as I used to — but I’ve got a list of strong recommendations from them, including Blue Heron, The Devil Smokes (and saves the burnt matches in the box), DJ Ahmet, Honey Bunch, L’arbre de l’authenticité, Life After, My Son Came Back to Disappear, Ninxs, Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie. The Pitch, A Poet, Sound of Falling, A Useful Ghost, and Wrong Husband.
Here’s a list of my personal Top 5 at AIFF: Sentimental Value, Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery, Follies, Köln 75, Mile End Kicks.
On these wrap-ups I tend to offer a little constructive criticism, but I’ve got nothing for the programmers, volunteers, and administration of the AIFF. This was a blast.
What I’ve got is a strong word or two for the folks who run the Park Lane mall: The escalators from Spring Garden down to the cinema level have been out of service for months — months! — and at a time when the numbers of people going down there numbered in the hundreds every day. They’re begging for someone to fall and hurt themselves. How is it possible they weren’t able to fix it in time for this event? The downtown multiplex is the most convenient and versatile cinema in the city for this event, but next year maybe AIFF should consider Dartmouth Crossing or Lower Sackville for their event if Park Lane can’t get its act together.
