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FLIKS Festival brings the best in Canadian cinema to Nelson

Nelson Daily Staff
By Nelson Daily Staff
February 10th, 2011

This weekend the Canadian FLIKS Festival showcases some fine local fare along with some of the big hitters in the biz at the Capitol Theatre.

The festival is a mix of six films — documentary, drama and comedy — spanning issues of family dynamics, finding purpose in life, love and work, food ethics, and the choices we make under adversity.

The festival opens Friday, Feb 11 at 7 p.m., with former Nelsonite and local theatre personality Declan O’Driscoll back in town with his entertaining Milk War, an in-depth documentary on the raw milk controversy — featuring the arrest and trial of Ontario raw milk farmer Mike Schmidt.

Join O’Driscoll and Jon Steinman of CJLY’s Deconstructing Dinner for a question and answer after the film.

Trail’s Soren Johnstone and Nelson’s Michael Babiarz will attend with their hard-hitting Play with Fire at 9 p.m. on Friday.

An award winning, no-budget 18+ gritty and visceral Indie drama that illuminates the violent and drug addled underbelly of youth trapped in a mill town, Play with Fire features Trail’s smelter looming in virtually every beautiful shot.

Saturday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. is Shine of Rainbows from Canada’s premier cinematographer-director Vic Sarin (Partition, 2008).

A beautifully shot, emotional, family drama, Shine of Rainbows is a sweet tale about a silent orphan adopted by a childless couple who live on a beautiful remote Irish Island.

Sarin’s adaptation of Lillian Beckwith’s novel is beautifully shot and acted. Rated G.

One Week Job, an inspiring doc by Ian MacKenzie — screening on Saturday at 3 p.m. — follows new Capilano College graduate Sean Aiken as he takes a new job every week for 52 weeks to find his passion in work and his purpose in the world.

A “one red paper clip” story, the pressures of the film project also help and hinder him in finding purpose — and love.

Sean and Ian are working on making it out to the festival for a question and answer session after the film.

Saturday’s feature at 7 p.m. is Vancouver’s Carl Bessai’s comedic-mocku-drama Fathers and Sons.

Following his hit Mother and Daughters (CDN FLIKS FEST 2009), in Fathers and Sons Bessai explores the relationship between fathers and sons in his unique, hilarious style — complete with all the insanity, macho posturing and repressed emotions of paternal bonding – and he does this across cultures.

Fathers and Sons stars Ben Ratner and co-stars former Slocan Valley resident Babz Chula in her final film. Rated 14A.

Small Town Murder Songs — that closes the FLIKS Fest on Saturday at 9 p.m. — is a haunting modern gothic tale about a repressed cop with a past who is shunned by his Ontario Mennonite community.

As he tries to solve his first murder case his past surfaces, shattering the calm of his new life.

Beautifully shot with a killer soundtrack by Bruce Peninsula, this Coen-esque FLIK starring Peter Stormare (Fargo) in a tour de force performance cries out for the big screen experience. Voted one of Canada’s top ten films by TIFF. Rated PG.

Fest ticket pre-sales are available at Otter Books (in person sales only please).

Check out http://www.FLIKS.ca for all of the trailers and more details.

Categories: Arts and Culture

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