HIFF Dailies • Day One
DAY ONE • OPENING NIGHT!
It's time! The 13th annual Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival kicks off in Neptune Scotiabank Stage Theatre tonight at 6 pm with food, drinks, and two very special presentations: artist Séamus Gallagher's VR installation, haus of haraway, and Ursula Handleigh’s entrancing dual-film expanded cinema piece, In the space between memory and loss. These pieces will be on display in the Neptune lobby for the duration of HIFF free of charge—no festival pass or tickets required!
The films start at 7 pm with our Opening Night Screening of Une Colonie, co-presented by Telefilm Canada! Une Colonie is the emotional fiction debut from one of Quebec's most exciting new talents, and we're thrilled that director Geneviève Dulude-De Celles will join us for an audience Q&A following the screening.
Next up, we'll invite you into La Casa Lobo at 9 pm. Part Grimm Brothers fairy tale, part early David Lynch, La Casa Lobo is a masterful work of stop-motion animation unlike anything you've seen before. A Q&A with co-director Joaquín Cociña will follow the screening.
Passes will be available for pick-up in the Neptune lobby an hour before each screening, and individual tickets will be on sale at the door for $12.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
6 pm • Opening Night Reception (feat. VR and Expanded Cinema presentations)
7 pm • Une Colony (A Colony) dir. Geneviève Dulude-De Celle
Co-presented by Telefilm Canada
In French with English subtitles
Canada • 2018 • Feature • 102 mins.
9 pm • La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House) dir. Joaquín Cociña + Cristóbal León
In Spanish + German with English subtitles
Chile • 2018 • Animated Feature • 74 mins.
STAY CONNECTED
ATLANTIC AUTEURS SPOTLIGHT
Where are you from originally?
That part of the map called Iran.
What was the inspiration for the film you’re presenting at HIFF?
The co-existence of opposites in nature, the game of life and death, and the question of free will for human kind.
What films or filmmakers inspired you to make your own?
Bela Tarr (Satantango), Abbas Kiarostami (all his films) and Forough Farrokhzad (The House Is Black).
What’s your most memorable theatre-going experience and why?
Sleeping through a slow film, not being sure which parts I was dreaming of and which parts were actually there on the screen.
HIFF's Atlantic Auteurs shorts program — Friday, June 14 at 9 pm
This film will screen along with 10 other works made by established and up-and-coming filmmakers from across the region. Learn more about the full program here.
View our 2019 trailer below to get a sneak peek at this year's selections:
SPONSOR SHOUT-OUT
HIFF wouldn't be possible without the generous support of community partners like Dee Dee's Ice Cream—Halifax's beloved makers of artisanal ice cream, burritos & more! Thanks for all that you do.
About HIFF
Now in its 13th year, HIFF provides a unique venue for filmmakers and media artists to share their work in a forum dedicated to the celebration of independent cinema. Since its inception, HIFF has showcased the Atlantic region's most innovative works alongside the films of acclaimed visiting artists. As a filmmaker's festival, HIFF brings the directors of the works we show to Halifax in order to create opportunities for them to connect directly with audiences and local artists through hosted Q+A's, artist talks and workshops. HIFF also presents a number of professional development initiatives, designed to assist local filmmakers with improving their skills and getting their films programmed at festivals around the world.
HIFF is made possible with support from AFCOOP, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Province of Nova Scotia, the City of Halifax, Screen Nova Scotia, Telefilm Canada and The Coast.
ABOUT AFCOOP: Established in 1974 the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) is a non-profit, community organization dedicated to supporting the production and presentation of independent film and moving image-based work in a collaborative, learning environment.
AFCOOP operates with generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of Nova Scotia and the City of Halifax.