The Yorkton Film Festival YFF has its lineup for the 2015 edition. Last week, the festival announced all the film nominees that will be screened May 21 to 24.
A total of 89 short films are vying for awards in 20 categories.
“As North America’s longest running film festival, we’re proud to be entering our 68th year with a great selection of some of Canada’s best short films,” said Randy Goulden, YFF executive director.
Among the 89 are 14 Saskatchewan films, another source of pride for the festival according to Goulden.
“As a Saskatchewan-based festival, we’re always happy to see the incredible work being done in the province and by filmmakers who grew up or studied in Saskatchewan,” she said.
Closest to home is Laundroman, a 23-minute film entered in the Drama category by three Foam Lake and Wadena high school students Jacob Farrell (graduated), Joel Kereluke and Luke Haliyk.
Laundroman stars Alexander Haliyk, Luke’s grandfather, playing a fictionalized version of himself as the owner of a laundromat in small town Saskatchewan (Foam Lake).
It is the first foray into narrative drama for the company, which goes by the name Blister Cinema.
Blister started out as a YouTube Channel. At first they were just fooling around, but as the guys started getting positive feedback, they got more serious, upgrading their equipment and becoming more ambitious with their story lines.
Last year, they attended YFF and were really inspired to take their filmmaking to the next level.
Scott Stemalschuk, festival coordinator, said the jury was impressed with the result.
“They seem like pretty serious guys,” he said. “I think they have a long career ahead of them, hopefully.”
Luke was thrilled to be accepted.
“It’s very very exciting for us,” he said. “The nomination really boosted our confidence.”
All three filmmakers intend to study film production at the University of Regina starting this fall.
Winners of the Golden Sheafs for 2015 will be announced at the festival’s Saturday night gala May 24.
All of the nominees can be viewed on the festival’s website: www.yorktonfilm.com.
