The Film North – Huntsville International Film Festival (HIFF) is a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

that takes place annually in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Held in September, the festival's mandate is to create a user-friendly environment for emerging Canadian and International Filmmakers. Film North 2014 tookplace at the Algonquin Theatre, Huntsville, Ontario from September 18 to 20. The program was announced in August. Film North is a charitable organization.

History

The Film North – Huntsville International Film Festival was founded by Lucy Molnar-Wing in 2009, and held in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. Film North presents a Retrospective Program each year as part of their film studies focus. Film North takes place at the Algonquin Theatre, Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. The festival's inaugural dates were Thursday, September 23 to Saturday, September 25, 2010. Film North presented 39 short and feature films from around the world, including Canada, the United States, Peru and Belgium. Notably, the film ''In the Wake of the Flood'', Ron Mann's documentary on

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

's interactive book tour for her novel ''The Year of the Flood'', was screened at the 2010 event. ''West Wind: A Vision of Tom Thomson'' opened the 2011 Film North 2 festival on September 22, 2011. This documentary explores

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His w ...

's extraordinary contribution to Canada's artistic development, and was directed by Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont. The Lifetime Achievement Bull's Eye Award 2011 recipient,

Michael Snow Michael Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are ''Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the f ...

, requested screening his 1967 film ''

Wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...

'' in its original format. Film North found 1600 feet of original film and projector, and drove these up to Huntsville to screen ''Wavelength''. 2012, the third season of Film North included 43 films, of which 31 were Canadian and 15 were world premiers: ''Dolime Dilemma: Water Proof'', ''Morning Zombies'', ''Sisters In Arms'', ''I Was a Boy'', ''2 Knocks'', ''One Night Stand'', ''The Ballerina and the Rocking Horse'', ''Angelfish'', ''The Etiquette of Sexting'', ''From Nomad to Nobody'', ''Waiting For Summer'', ''Ostichcized'', ''Zen and the Arts of Distraction'', '' 'Missing' Artist:Unknown'', and 6 Canadian Premiers: ''Fish'', ''Powerful: Energy for Everyone'', ''Duck'', ''Spaghetti fur Zwei'', ''La Cosa in Cima Alle Scale'', and ''Algonquin''. ''Butter'', directed by

Jim Field Smith Jim Field Smith (born 20 February 1979) is an English film and television director, writer and producer. Early career Smith was a member of the British sketch comedy group Dutch Elm Conservatoire, who were nominated for the prestigious Perrier A ...

and starring

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...

, had its Ontario premiere screening, and ''Antiviral'' had its first screening since winning the 2012

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

's Skyy Vodka Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film. ''Artist: Unknown'', directed by Craig Goodwill, is the unfolding of a wake for Tom Thomson and was part of the closing night program, which culminated with the Ontario premiere screening of ''Two Jacks'', directed by Bernard Rose and starring Jack Huston, Sienna Miller, Danny Huston and Jacqueline Bisset. The short film ''Algonquin'' had its Canadian premiere at the festival in 2012. The film brought audiences into the heart of Canada's iconic wilderness,

Algonquin Park Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canad ...

, by following the headwaters that originate and flow out of its highlands. ''Algonquin'' was directed by Jeremy Munce and produced by Joel Irwin. Andrew Sheppard and Hugo Kitching were the film's cinematographers. The 2012 Director's Retrospective selection was

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

's ''

McCabe and Mrs. Miller ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' is a 1971 American revisionist Western film directed by Robert Altman and starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. The screenplay by Altman and Brian McKay is based on the 1959 novel ''McCabe'' by Edmund Naughton. Ma ...

'' (1971), starring

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

and

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. S ...

, about the frontier myth of the West. In 2013, Film North screened 35 films. Awards were presented for the following: * Best Short Film, ''S is For Bird'', directed by Matt Sadowski * Best Canadian Emerging Filmmaker, ''Pretty Thing'', directed by E. Mirabelli and M. DeFilippis * Best Documentary, ''The Captain's Log'', directed by J. Haenel and B. Pfister * Best Canadian Feature Length Film, ''Sex After Kids'', directed by Jeremy Lalonde * Best Animated Film, ''The Snow Spirit'', directed by L. Salas Rejes The Retrospective Series' theme was "Representations of Stand Up Comedy In Feature Film". The films ''The King Of Comedy'', directed by Martin Scorsese, and ''Louis CK: Hilarious'', directed by Louis CK, were screened. The opening night feature was ''Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children'', directed by Patrick Reed, produced by Peter Raymont. This won the Golden Antler Viewer's Choice Award. The Friday shorts program screened 20 films, and the night's feature was the Canadian premiere of ''All Is Lost'', directed by J.C. Chandor and starring Robert Redford. The closing night feature was ''Who The F--k Is Arthur Fogel'', directed by Ron Chapman, which was preceded by the 1965 short film ''Genevieve'', starring

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...

and directed by

Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...

. On September 21, 2013, Brault died of a heart attack while travelling to the festival to receive its Bull's Eye Lifetime Achievement Award. Festival founder Lucy Wing praised Brault as "a champion of Canadian cinema and among Canada’s short list of trailblazing filmmakers of the 20th century."

Film submission criteria

Each year the Film North Festival selects a number of feature films and short films. Films that are selected to be in one of five competition programs are eligible for jury prizes in their respective categories. * Best Animated Film - any feature or short length film incorporating animation * Film North Best Documentary Film - any documentary work with a running time of at least 70 minutes * Film North Feature Length Film - any narrative work of fiction or nonfiction with a running time of at least 70 minutes * Film North Short Length Film - any narrative film with a running time of 70 minutes or less, or any documentary film with a running time of 50 minutes or less * Film North Viewer's Choice Film - any short or feature length film

2010 winners

* Trading Bay Grouse and Trout Club Bull’s Eye Award for Lifetime Achievement - Graeme Ferguson

2011 winners

* Trading Bay Grouse and Trout Club Bull’s Eye Award for Lifetime Achievement -

, presented by Graeme Ferguson

2012 winners

* Riaz Tyab Bull's Eye Lifetime Achievement Award -

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

2013 winners

* Bull's Eye Lifetime Achievement Award -

Recognition

* Film North branding by concrete.ca, part of the 2010 exhibition at the

AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

National Design CenterStaff Write
"Now Showing In (Muskoka) "
''wsj.com'', September 17, 2011, accessed September 19, 2011.

References

External links

filmnorth.net
- official Film North webpage
concrete.ca
- branding by Concrete Design Communications {{DEFAULTSORT:Film North - Huntsville International Film Festival Film festivals in Ontario Huntsville, Ontario Tourist attractions in the District Municipality of Muskoka Film festivals established in 2014