NORFOLK COUNTY, Ont. – September 16, 2017 – Four feature films and about 20 short films will form the programme of the new Routes to Roots Film Festival (R2RFF) in Norfolk County in a month’s time.
The Routes to Roots Film Festival aims to be a showcase of local, national, and international film with an emphasis on themes of returning to roots, rural life, and connectedness.
The opening feature film on Friday evening will be In Her Place (Canada / South Korea). Directed by Albert Shin, the film features a mysterious city woman who comes to a rural farm where she’s taken in by a weathered woman and her odd teenaged daughter.
Late night on Friday, R2RFF will feature Diani and Devine Meet the Apocalypse (USA). Directed by Etta Devine and Gabriel Diani, this struggling comedy duo discovers that surviving the apocalypse is almost as difficult as surviving in Hollywood.
Saturday’s matinee feature will be I Dream In Another Language (Mexico). Directed by Ernesto Contreras, the film tells the story of an indigenous language in peril; its last two speakers had a quarrel in the past and haven’t spoken to each other in over 50 years. Martín, a young linguist, tries to convince the old friends to once again talk to each other.
On Saturday evening, R2RFF will close with the Ethiopian feature film, Lamb. Directed by Yared Zeleke, the story follows an Ethiopian boy as he moves in with distant relatives. He brings along his pet sheep but the upcoming holidays spell danger for this beloved friend.
R2RFF will be hosted by The Strand Theatre in downtown Simcoe, located in Norfolk County, on October 20 and 21, 2017.
The film festival will also feature a long list of award-winning short films from around the world.
One of the Canadian shorts will be Stolen, a film by Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs that explores the troubling reality of Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women, told from the perspective of a 14-year-old First Nations girl.
Among the international shorts will be Horseface, a Spanish film made on a budget of only €20 ($30 Canadian). It won awards in Europe and the United States, with the two leading roles played by the filmmaker and his grandmother.
The short film Ogasawara, from the country of Georgia, brings one of many unique tales to R2RFF. A young couple decide to get married, but their romantic decision unleashes a humorous series of unbelievable and sad stories.
On Saturday morning of R2RFF, children will have free access to a slate of shorts aimed at kids. About 12 short films will be shown on the Saturday afternoon of R2RFF.
Co-curators Elana Post and Michael Chwastiak searched the world for the best films to be showcased at the inaugural edition of R2RFF.
Tickets for R2RFF are now available for sale. A two-day pass costs $50 per person, including tax. Individual admission for each of the four feature films and the shorts presentation is $12 per person, including tax.
For more information about R2RFF, visit www.r2rff.com.
Anyone wishing to volunteer for R2RFF is welcome to contact Chair Jim Carroll at jimc@kwic.com or phone 519-427-6333.
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Media contacts:
Michael Chwastiak, Co-Curator, R2RFF
Phone: (519) 420-1684
Email: michaelchwastiak@icloud.com
Elana Post, Co-Curator, R2RFF
Email: elanarait@gmail.com (available for FaceTime calls)