Most of the 235 films playing at this month’s 29th annual Atlantic Film Festival will never play here again, or at least won’t be back for several months.
The festival, which kicks off tonight with the world premiere of Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, offers a chance to see many underground or up and coming films. But trying to pick what to see can be overwhelming.
Program Manager Andrew Murphy has pretty much seen them all and can offer some helpful suggestions for the opening weekend.
Starting Friday, there’s Passenger Side (Park Lane, 7:10 p.m.).
“It’s a Canadian film shot in L.A. about two brothers reconciling their differences over the course of this journey, it’s been getting really great reviews across the board,” Murphy said.
If you’re one of the many people drawn to French films, there’s Dede, a travers les brumes (Park Lane, 7:15 p.m.), a biopic about the famous Quebec musician Dede Fortin.
Friday also kicks off a series of midnight movies with vampire flick Daybreakers (Oxford, 11:59 p.m.), starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe.
Saturday features the Canadian co-production, Amreeka (Park Lane, 7:10), about a Palestinian woman and her son who move to the American Midwest as the Iraq war is about to break out.
Irish thriller The Eclipse (Park Lane, 9:35 p.m.) is the directorial debut of well-known Irish playwright Conor McPherson. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Oxford, 9:30 p.m.) is the newest film by Terry Gilliam and the last performance from Heath Ledger. Or there’s the Canadian made druggy bank heist movie, High Life (Park lane, 9:30 p.m.).
For Sunday evening Murphy recommends Cole (Park Lane, 7:15 p.m.), about an orphan who is adopted by a family and moves to Ireland. “It’s a really sweet film for families and adults alike,” he said.
