Photo: The Gambrel Barn at Country Heritage Park
The Milton Film Festival is kicking off their 10th anniversary season with a series of great Canadian films – both online and in-person.
The spring series has something for everyone: comedy, documentary, drama, Indigenous films, and Q&As with special guests – including a very popular one from the Festival’s past.
It all starts with National Canadian Film Day on Wednesday, April 20th – a massive one-day, coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration of Canadian cinema, presented by REEL CANADA. The Milton Film Festival is taking part in this initiative by presenting a free virtual double-bill of two extraordinary Indigenous Canadian feature films:
- BEANS is the award-winning coming-of-age film by Tracy Deer about a twelve-year-old girl named Beans who is torn between innocent childhood and reckless adolescence; forced to grow up fast and become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Oka Crisis.
- RUN WOMAN RUN is a comedic drama about Beck, a single mom who, after a health scare, is goaded into running a marathon by the ghostly appearance of legendary Onondaga marathon runner Tom Longboat.
Both films will be available online, free of charge, on April 20th only.
Then it’s time for Movies In the Barn, presented with the support of the Milton Community Fund. Three outstanding Canadian feature films will be screened live and in-person at the beautiful Gambrel Barn at Country Heritage Park:
- SCARBOROUGH (May 4)
Three kids in a low-income neighborhood find friendship and community in an unlikely place. Adapted from the critically acclaimed novel by Catherine Hernandez, this award-winning film is a bittersweet portrait of three low-income families struggling to endure within a system that’s set them up for failure. Nominated for eleven Canadian Screen Awards. - MURPHY’S LAW (May 18)
This personal documentary follows filmmaker Megan Murphy as she copes with the deaths of her parents by re-tracing her father’s 1973 solo bicycle trip across Ireland – using his original bike to do it. The film was one of the highlights of the 2017 Milton Film Festival, and the organizers are thrilled to welcome back Megan Murphy (and her bike) for a live audience Q&A after the screening. - DONKEYHEAD (June 1)
Mona, a failed writer, carves out a life of isolation in Regina while caring for her ailing Sikh father, but when he has a debilitating stroke her three successful siblings show up on her doorstep determined to take control of the situation. Funny and relatable, this comedy was written and directed by Agam Darshi (DMZ, Funny Boy) in her directorial debut.
“We are really excited to be able to welcome everyone back to in-person screenings with these amazing films,” says Festival Director Jennifer Smith. “We’ve all been missing the experience of enjoying movies in the company of fellow film lovers, and we thought this would be the perfect way celebrate the return to the big screen.”
As a special treat, everyone attending will be offered free popcorn and other snacks. Tickets are $10, and Three-Film Passes are available for $25.
For more details, guest updates, and to buy tickets, click here.
