Every year, we find, for reasons of time, that there are films that can’t be slotted into our screening schedule. These films are available through Mini-Cinema. People come in, choose the film they want to see and sit down in comfort in front of a television screen to watch their selection. Great films. No schedule. Maximum flexibility. All a part of the Yorkton Film Festival.
Monsieur Pug
Monsieur Pug is not at all like most dogs, the kind that wag their tails and bounce up to meet you. Oh, no this little dog is obsessed, convinced he is the target of the modern madness of the cell phone.
How many times have you entered a restaurant to see three or four people gathered around a café table absorbed by the screen in front of them? This film takes a witty and satirical view of that everyday phenomenon.
Puffin Patrol
The highlight of my recent trip to Newfoundland was, of course, the friendliness of the people but a close second was a tour of Bay Bulls where the puffins hang out. People in the area call them the ‘clowns of the sea’. The sad part is that their numbers are dwindling. The good news is that people are trying their best to create a safe environment for this charming and entertaining species.
Filmmaker Charlotte Engel takes a fact-filled and entertaining look at this endearing bird.
Father
Austin’s father was electrocuted while illegally stripping copper in an abandoned factory. His son, Austin, is left to deal with the ugly consequences when he finds the body.
Jordan Tannahill has been nominated in the best director category for this film. After seeing it, I can understand why.
Rating: 18A
Doreen Brownstone: Still Working After 90
This is a charming film simply because it is funny, touching and true. The story of Doreen Brownstone, Canada’s oldest working star of stage and screen, includes interviews with Canadian film and theatre legends Gordon Pinsent, Tom Hendry, Seana McKenna, and more.
Age of the Drone
The drones are coming, creating a new revolution overhead. Anyone can fly one, putting them into restricted airspace and endangering lives. There are huge concerns about privacy, security and military use. The question is: who gets to use them, and how? Age of the Drone is a thought-provoking film sure to promote discussion.
Walk in the park
An old lady takes a walk by herself in a city park when she goes through a sudden and unexpected metamorphosis. Through this change, she becomes a different person, thereby bringing into question the stereotypes of aging held by many in the general public.
This entry highlights that animation is not just cartoon comedy. It can also be a technique used to prompt the consideration of serious topics.
Graffiti Stories: From Dark Alleys to Bright Futures
Before viewing this film I saw graffiti as vandalism. Through this film, I have learned that urban art has a time and place to lead youth to hope and a new future.
The Dollhouse
For nearly a decade, The Dollhouse stood in a frozen field just off of highway #2 in the Canadian Prairies. A match was lit and in a few breaths the walls were engulfed in flames. In under an hour it, along with everything it contained, was no more.
Sometimes, I see a film and I’m not sure why it appeals to me. In this case, I think it’s a poignant reminder of all the abandoned buildings we see just off the side of the road, all the farmhouses and granaries about to disappear from our prairie landscape.
