Prior to sharing this year’s lineup, SWFF has announced digital screenings, highly affordable ticket pricing, this year’s opening feature and a very special guest to the 2020 industry series.
Matt Carter
Silver Wave Film Festival will take place in 2020 as planned, albeit with a few major tweaks. Probably the most notable change will be how audiences engage with this year’s lineup. There will be no in-person screenings at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre or the Centre communautraire Sainte-Anne, no after parties as we’ve come to know them, or any of the other many gatherings we’ve experienced at past events. While many of the usual events – the industry panels, the features, the documentaries, the shorts and the awards show – will still be happening, their format has been adjusted to meet these unusual times we’re living in. That’s right, this year SWFF marks its 20th anniversary by programming everything online.
But the changes don’t end there. To help accommodate you, the viewing public, and to work with your schedule, this year’s festival will run for a full week, stretching the time-tested four day format into a full week that celebrates the beauty of independent film.
And the last change that deserves mentioning: the 2020 Silver Wave Film Festival will be offered completely free of charge.
Today’s announcement describes this year’s programming as, “available for viewing in a Netflix format where viewers can choose the best time to watch content on their schedule.”
While the full lineup of films and screenings has yet to be announced, organizers have let a few cats out of the bag.
After sweeping the awards at the recent FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, Taylor Olson’s award-winning Nova Scotia feature film Bone Cage will be the lead feature opening the festival’s 20th year. Taylor is an actor, writer, and filmmaker based in K’Jipuktuk, Halifax. His feature film directorial debut Bone Cage, based on the Governor-General award-winning play by Catherine Banks, picked up four awards at FIN including awards for Best Atlantic Feature, Best Atlantic Director, Best Atlantic Screenwriting, and Best Atlantic Cinematographer (Kevin A. Fraser).
This year’s industry series will welcome special guest Anna Silk. Silk was born and raised in Fredericton before leaving to pursue an acting career. She got her breakthrough role as the lead character Bo on the Syfy/Showcase hit series Lost Girl. In 2015, Silk won Fan Choice at the Canada Screen Awards and was nominated for a 2015 Golden Maple Award for her work on the show. The series, which now airs in over 100 countries, premiered to record-breaking numbers and rave reviews. Before Lost Girl, Silk was perhaps best known for her role as Erica’s love interest Cassidy on the popular Canadian series Being Erica, a role for which she received a Gemini nomination. And most Canadians will not forget Silk as the cantankerous flight attendant in the popular Nicoderm commercials.
“We are greatly disappointed that our festival will not have the in-person component that makes it so special to filmmakers and audiences alike,” said Silver Wave Film Festival organizer Tony Merzetti. “However, we are delighted by the potential to reach more film fans across the province and beyond and to provide convenient access to the festival on phones, computers, or TVs, which feels like a very modern way to reach an audience.”
More news on this year’s SWFF is expected in the coming weeks. This year’s festival runs November 5-11.
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