READY FOR WIFF?

Our panel’s picks from Day 1 flicks

It’s time for the 14th edition of the Windsor International Film Festival, featuring more than 100 titles from around the world, all screening in downtown Windsor over seven days.

With so many interesting films to choose from, we thought moviegoers could use some recommendations on each day’s schedule courtesy of WIFF executive director Vincent Georgie, Windsor Star reporter Dalson Chen, and Windsor Star marketing manager Dalia Mazhar.

VINCENT’S PICK

Capernaum - 6 p.m., Chrysler Theatre

WIFF’s opening-night gala screening is a highly acclaimed Arabic drama about a 12-year-old Lebanese boy who sues his morally compromised parents for bringing him into a world of poverty and turpitude. The title has Biblical origins and refers to a great mess. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

DALSON’S PICK

What Keeps You Alive - 11:05 p.m., Capitol Theatre

This Canadian horror-thriller joins a lesbian couple as they celebrate their one-year anniversary with a trip to a remote cabin. But there’s no romance in this wilderness: One of the women is a homicidal sociopath who forces her partner into a bloody cat-and-mouse game of survival. Expect violence.

DALIA’S PICK

Three Identical Strangers - 7 p.m., Capitol Theatre

Truth is stranger than fiction in this award-winning documentary about three identical male siblings who were separated as infants and raised in different households. The three brothers discovered each other again at the age of 19 only to find that the nature versus nurture debate wasn’t their only dilemma.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Under the Tree - 1:45 p.m., Chrysler Theatre

This Icelandic tale of warring neighbours creeps from black comedy into unsettling tragedy like a Nordic version of a David Lynch film.

For more details about these and other WIFF screenings, including ticket-buying information, visit windsorfilmfestival.com or the WIFF box office at 109 University Ave. West.