Roll out the red carpet for the annual silver screen extravaganza as a huge lineup of movies will be shown all week in downtown Barrie.
The 22nd annual Barrie Film Festival is here and with a wide variety of flicks to keep movie-lovers busy from Oct. 18-27.
It all gets underway tonight at 7:30 p.m. with a documentary on the first black player in the NHL, Willie O’Ree.
All films will be shown at the Uptown Theater, located at 55 Dunlop St. W.
With 24 Canadian and international entries, festival director Claudine Benoit told BarrieToday it has been long on planning.
“We plan all year round, basically right after the last event ends,” said Benoit. “We do have to wait until the summer to really put in our film requests so we can get some of the most current selection.”
Dramas, comedies, documentaries and thrillers, even an art-house horror film from the UK, are on the schedule this year, as is a special look at the world’s most topical issue in the Environment Series.
“We are really excited about the environmental series, because it is such a huge topic in today’s world,” Benoit said. “That said, we are so happy to have a horror flick in the lineup for the first time in a while. It is called In Fabric and is a United Kingdom film that is rated 18A.
"It is such a wide array of films and there truly is something for everyone.”
The films are just one aspect of the weeklong movie celebration. There are many after-parties at different downtown locations and a special Q&A session with the director of the critically acclaimed film, Killing Patient Zero.
The film is about Gaëtan Dugas, the Canadian man who was one of the earliest diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients in North America.
Dugas was incorrectly labelled as "patient zero" for the epidemic and Laurie Lynd will be on hand Sunday to speak about his 2019 film.
With so much to do and a busy week ahead, Benoit will make time for the movie lover in her to catch a few flicks.
“I am looking forward to David Crosby: Remember My Name and also the Bill Nighy movie, Sometimes Always Never,” she said. “Obviously for anyone who has been, the Short Film Competition is immensely popular and we all look forward to that.”
For all ticket information, film times and BFF parties, head to the website here.
