‘Can’t-miss event’
American director Jamie Redford to attend screening of his friend’s film ‘Chasing Coral’ at the first-ever P.E.I. Fest, running July 13-16, in Charlottetown
Jamie Redford is planning to visit Prince Edward Island next month.
But he’s not taking a vacation.
The 55-year-old son of actor Robert Redford will be attending the inaugural Prince Edward Island Film, Food & Idea Festival (P.E.I. Fest) running July 13-16 in Charlottetown with one purpose in mind.
He will be presenting “Chasing Coral”, a film directed by Jeff Orlowki, on July 16 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown at 6 p.m.
“Chasing Coral is an onthe-edge-of-your seat global adventure film that tells a vitally important story about our oceans,” says Redford, cofounder of the Redford Centre, an organization that uses the power of film, video and new media to increase public awareness about social and environmental issues.
This is thrilling news, says the festival’s executive director.
“It’s very exciting, and I hope it creates some anticipation. The fact that the film director is also coming is a big coup,” says Colin Stanfield, who met Redford at a party in San Francisco in April through a mutual friend, Cari Borja, a Californiabased fashion designer/salon dinner organizer.
The Redford Centre, which he started with his dad, is a film production company that focuses on movies for social good. Coincidently, social issue films are also a huge part of the P.E.I. Fest mandate.
So as the two men started talking about the goals of their perspective companies they realized that they had much in common.
“So I pitched him the idea of creating a strand of programming that he would be the curator of. He said, ‘let’s do this,’ ” says Stanfield a P.E.I. native who now calls New York City home.
Also included in the environmental program is “Bluefin”, P.E.I. filmmaker John Hopkins’ award-winning National Film Board documentary, and a panel discussion with Torontobased youth environmental filmmaker Slater Jewell-Kemker, who will show clips from her upcoming documentary, “An Inconvenient Youth”. In addition, Millefiore Clarke’s short documentary, “Island Green”, will be show, which examines the changing face of P.E.I’s agricultural industry.
Redford said he’s pleased about presenting his film here.
“You could gather artists, artisans and thinkers in a typical convention hall, and good things might happen. Place them amidst the splendour of Prince Edward Island and it becomes a ‘can’t-miss’ event.”
For Stanfield, the feeling is mutual.
“I am very excited that he will be coming because people will be attracted to his personality, and that will be the gateway to awareness about what he’s doing and what the film festival is trying to do.”