Deep Cut festival back for second year
The Deep Cut Film Festival returns to The Registry Theatre in Kitchener a week from Saturday.
This will be the second iteration for this one-day, all-genre festival dedicated to bringing you “the best from around the world and from your own neighbourhood.”
This year’s selections are mostly short films, organized into four feature-length blocks, plus the world première of a made-inWaterloo documentary on a local topic of current interest.
The prime mover here is writer, director and producer David Briggs. I first met Briggs when he was part of filmmaking circles here in Waterloo Region. Going on six years ago now he moved north, to Elliot Lake and Sudbury.
He’s never looked back. I remember long conversations about how supportive Northern Ontario communities can be for film projects and for artistic work in general. So he’s not moving back here, but he stays in touch and has retained a special affection for Kitchener. Hence the Deep Cut Film Festival.
Briggs is excited about what he’s bringing to Kitchener: “The lineup is stellar, with a variety of films from around the world ... Everyone involved in these films has done an amazing job, and the talent on display is truly remarkable.”
He’s doing all this with no grants or major sponsors. It’s a labour of love.
Deep Cut is related to another project Briggs is involved with up in Sudbury, the Northern Frights Film Festival, which is now in its fourth year.
As the name suggests, the defining theme here is horror. For Deep Cuts, it’s mixed, but, as Briggs explains, “horror has its own block, the final block of the night — the ‘K-W Creep Show.’ The other blocks consist of dramas and comedies. There really is something for everyone, and I hope to have as many people join us as possible to see the work of these up-and-coming filmmakers.”
Canada is well represented in the lineup, especially Toronto. There are also films from France, Germany, Australia and the U.S. Three of the almost 30 films in the program are from the Greater Kitchener area, including the festival marquee feature.
The feature is a full-length documentary that touches on developments that have been in the news of late. It’s called “Radio Waterloo,” which, as the publicity material puts it, tells the story of “the advent of community radio in Canada as told by the people who struggled to create it.”
CKWR, Canada’s first English language community radio station, is part of the story. But the focus is on
Radio Waterloo, later known as CKMS, from its origins as the University of Waterloo radio station to the present.
DJs from the pioneer days provide details about how it all started. A critical turning point in these developments is the controversial referendum among the university student body that left the station without funding. Voices currently involved with the CKMS talk about the transition to the current format and status. “Join us,” they’re saying, “as we relive the painful dedication of local DJs who fought to keep the community voice heard on FM radio.”
It is worth noting that the film includes performances by various bands that have been featured on CKMS, and an original soundtrack created by Canadian musicians specifically for this project through a collective called “Robot Apocalypse.” The collaborators include Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat, The Mounties), Brad Merritt (54-40), Ian Somers (Limblifter), Brad Weber (Caribou, Pick a Piper), Ulysses Coppard (Smash Boom Pow) and many others.
The Deep Cut Film Festival is a bargain: an all access pass is only $20. Admission to each film block is by donation/pay what you can. Cash only.
The marquee feature is a late addition to the program. From what we’re told, it will start at 12:30 p.m., but be sure to check the website for the most up-todate information. The blocks start at 2:30; 4:15; 7 and 8:45 p.m.