Bring your family and friends, grab a bag of popcorn and get ready to connect with your neighbours at the fourth annual Outdoor Film Festival at Caravan Farm Theatre Sept. 7-10. Now in its fourth year, the festival features four Canadian made films over four nights.
“The filmmaking scene in Canada is relatively small, but these films are a great indication of the incredible talent in our country,” says Estelle Shook, artistic director. “Each night is a celebration of cinema—the ‘red carpet,’ food trucks, craft beer and cocktails, hot buttered popcorn and of course the lovely, photo-friendly fields and gardens all help to create a festival atmosphere.”
Kicking off the film festival on Thursday, Sept. 7 is Marie Clement’s acclaimed psychological drama Bones of Crows. Told through the eyes of Cree matriarch Aline Spears, Bones of Crows unfolds over 100 years from surviving life in a residential school, facing systemic racism and sexual abuse and working for the Canadian Air Forces as a Cree code talker in the Second World War.
Bring a date on Friday night to catch Canadian cinema pioneer Valerie Buhagiar’s Carmen. The titular character spends her days looking after her brother who is the local priest in their Mediterranean village. After being abandoned by the church and later mistaken for the new priest, Carmen sees herself and the world in a new light.
Saturday is family night at the Outdoor Film Festival with I Like Movies by Chandler Levack. A hilariously and intentionally inept parody of A Christmas Carol, this indie flick is a smart and funny exploration of teen angst and a love for cinema.
Rounding out the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 10 is Jason Karman’s Golden Delicious. A beautiful LGBTQ+ film about friends, family and finding oneself, Golden Delicious follows high school senior Jake and his journey to finding the courage to be himself.
Before each feature, audiences will take in a short film chosen by a panel of Indigenous artists and changemakers as part of the third annual Indigenous Short Film Showcase sponsored in part by SASCU.
“Each year, we receive more submissions from a greater range of filmmakers,” says Shook. “It’s an honour to support the Indigenous filmmaking and storytelling community in this small way.”
Tickets to the Outdoor Film Festival, including the Indigenous Short Film Showcase are on sale now. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the Indigenous short film starts at 7 p.m. For more information about Caravan’s 2023 season or to purchase tickets, visit caravanfarmtheatre.com.