From salty to sweet
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival unveils diverse lineup for event happening Oct. 18-22
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival organizers have chosen the perfect bookends for this year’s event: two of 2017’s most buzzedabout features.
Local native Jordan’s Canning’s second feature film, “Suck It Up,” will open this year’s film festival, while the award-winning “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” will close it.
“Suck it Up” is director Canning’s tale of two best friends and a blue mustang, a comedy with a side of grief and betrayal.
The film debuted earlier this year at Slamdance, and screened most recently at FIN (Atlantic International Film Festival).
Writer Julia Hoff and actor Erin Carter will be on hand for the screening.
“Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World” is a documentary about the influence of native music on rock music, from artists such as Buffy Sainte Marie and Robbie Robertson to Jimi Hendrix, who was part Cherokee. Director Catherine Bainbridge and executive producer Ernest Webb will attend the screening.
More than 40 films are set to screen during the five-day festival, which is happening in St. John’s Oct. 18-22.
Each year, the festival — one of the longest-running women’s film festivals in the world, established in 1989 — receives hundreds of submissions from filmmakers here and abroad, and organizers select a diverse range of entertaining and meaningful films to participate.
Along with screenings, the festival will include a forum component, with workshops, panels and meetings, as well as a mentorship program.
As always, local filmmakers are well represented in the festival. Highlights include “Life’s Short: Wear the Sparkly Earrings,” Heidi Coombs-thorne’s short film about beloved local actress Janet Edmonds, who died this year; Rhonda Buckley’s “Avon Ladies, Rural Style”; and “Waste It,” which earned Emily Bridger last year’s RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award.
A full schedule and ticket information for this year’s St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival is available online at www.womensfilmfestival.com