Last week as the Yorkton Film Festival prepared for its kick-off, there were some last minute announcements.
As part of this year’s festival, students of Dr. Brass and Yorkdale schools will have an opportunity to view a film, interact with the filmmaker and participate in related activities.
All the Time in the World documents filmmaker Suzanne Crocker’s family journey to disconnect from modern lifestyle and live simply in the remote wilderness of the Canadian north.
Organizers will reinforce the film’s theme of disconnecting from modern technology and reconnecting with nature to students with a hike through the Ravine Ecological Preserve.
The film is presented in partnership with Nature Saskatchewan.
“After watching this film, I thought we had a tremendous opportunity to partner with Nature Saskatchewan this year,” said Randy Goulden, YFF executive director. “It really explores the themes of reconnecting with your environment and disconnecting from some of the distractions that exist around us, and I just thought that would be a fantastic theme to explore and present to our two school partners.”
The Festival also announced it is hosting former Yorkton resident Roy Cross, who has enjoyed considerable success in the film industry. Cross will serve as a jury head and moderate a panel discussion entitled “Limited Parameters” that explores how to use non-budgetary restrictions during the writing process to fuel creativity.
“We’re very excited to have Roy in town for this year’s festival,” Goulden said. “People are familiar with the festival, having been here for 68 years, but it’s nice to be able to also point to former residents who have gone on to success in the film industry. Yorkton is full of talented people, and it’s nice to be able to welcome back someone who grew up here, explored their artistic beginnings in our community, and then achieved success in their field.”
Cross got his start in film as a teenager shooting Super 8 movies around town. He went on to forge a career as a writer, director and producer after receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Regina and a Masters from Concordia.
The Festival officially starts Thursday evening with the Painted Hand Casino Opening Night Screening featuring Ain’t About the Money, a documentary portrait of bluesman and former Yorktonite, Big Dave McLean.
