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Movie lovers, save the date: New West Film Fest returns Oct. 18

When you sit down to enjoy a show at the New West Film Fest this year, keep in mind all the volunteers who chose those movies for you.
Soldiers Without Guns
The documentary Soldiers Without Guns is one of the featured films in this year's New West Film Fest.

When you sit down to enjoy a show at the New West Film Fest this year, keep in mind all the volunteers who chose those movies for you.

They watched dozens and dozens of submissions in order to choose the lineup you’re going to enjoy at Landmark Cinemas at New West station for this year’s festival, running Oct. 18 to 20.

That’s a lot of viewing time. But for New West Film Society board member Craig Hopkins, it’s all worth it to pull together the best possible lineup.

“It’s a process of viewing the films and finding what speaks to people,” he said.

Sawah
Sawah, a feature film from Luxembourg, opens the New West Film Fest. - contributed

This year’s festival kicks off Friday night with a 7 p.m. screening of Sawah, a comedy from Luxembourg that tells the story of a DJ from Cairo who’s on his way to play the gig of a lifetime when his plane is rerouted to Luxembourg, where he loses his passport and is mistaken for a refugee. It’s running in tandem with the Norwegian short film The Funeral.

The screening will be followed by an opening night gala party, running from 9 to 11 p.m., where film lovers can mingle with filmmakers over food and drink.

Saturday features a pair of documentary screenings.

At 5:30 p.m., audiences can check out Apex Survival: Maiden Voyage, the story of a global organization of shark experts and conservationists, running in tandem with the Canadian short Plant Some Trees And Go From There.

At 7 p.m., it’s the Canadian short film Asleep, about a photojournalist covering the war in Syria, along with the feature-length Soldiers Without Guns. The documentary follows soldiers from New Zealand who were sent into the middle of a 10-year civil war on a Pacific Island without guns – armed only with “music, Maori culture and love,” as a film synopsis says.

“I had no idea this actually happened,” Hopkins said, noting it was a reminder to him of how festival entries can continue to surprise him, year after year. “This year we had some really interesting films.”

A first for this year’s festival will be a late-night After Dark Showcase, running at 9 p.m. Saturday, which features three “creepier, scarier, eerier” films – two shorts from Canada and a feature-length film, Blurred Vision, from Denmark.

Hopkins noted the showcase is a first for the festival. It’s an effort by organizers to find a way to screen some of the films that are well done and well worth seeing but that may be just a little too dark for the festival’s general audiences.

Sunday will feature the festival’s popular shorts collection at 2 p.m., featuring documentaries, comedies and dramas, with a filmmaker Q&A.

Finding Bobbi
The documentary Finding Bobbi screens Oct. 20 as part of New West Film Fest. - contributed

At 4:30 p.m., anyone interested in finding out more about the film industry is invited to another festival first: a free Industry Insights professional development session, which will bring together a variety of local film professionals to talk to those who want to break into the industry or just find out more about it.

Sunday evening will feature a documentary double bill. At 6 p.m., audiences can see My Name Was January, the short documentary about New Westminster resident January Marie Lapuz, who was brutally killed in her home in September 2012. The film pays tribute to Lapuz’ life and also serves as a call for justice for trans women of colour.

That will be followed by Finding Bobbi, a Canadian documentary about the journey of a transgender actor, set against the backdrop of her return to the stage after 23 years, as a woman, in an LGBTQ+ production of Oklahoma! at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Hopkins said the film is continuing its mission to bring an accessible film festival to the New Westminster community.

“The idea is really, with the New West Film Fest, we want to make it accessible, and we want to make it a filmmakers’ film festival,” Hopkins said, noting many of the filmmakers come to the screenings to talk to the audience – and often bring their own crew members and supporters with them.

Thanks to the support of Landmark Cinemas, the festival has a first-class, centrally located venue for its efforts.

Hopkins noted the event couldn’t happen without the support of a dedicated board and volunteers. The New West Film Society board has a mix of film industry professionals, those who have studied film and/or made films on the side, and some who are just lovers of film.

“We’ve got some really great, passionate volunteers,” Hopkins said. “We want to make sure the community is able to access these films. If there’s a hunger for it, we want to make sure we’re satisfying it.”

Tickets for single screenings are $10 regular, or $8 for students and seniors, or you can buy an early-bird pass (before Oct. 7) for $40 for the entire festival. Get the full lineup and ticket information at www.newwestfilmfest.ca.