SIFAs showcase excellence in local film

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author: ethan butterfield | a&c writer

The awards promise to inspire new local talent to keep production in the province. Photo credit: SIFA Facebook

The awards promise to inspire new local talent to keep production in the province. Photo credit: SIFA Facebook

The Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards are back for their third annual ceremony.

I have the honour of covering the third annual Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards. Now, for those who read my last article about the Oscar previews, I am a huge fan of films and the film industry in general. The thing being, due to annoyances such as the current state of the film tax credit, films just aren’t as prominent as they used to be in our home province.

That is not to say films will always be like this. It is absolutely stunning to see the amount of talent that comes from Saskatchewan. Especially considering the fact that film as a job creator or a tourist attraction in cities like Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw is something that the government just does not want to gamble on. I can say as a fact that people are deeply saddened by this and that these communities have been working incredibly hard to make the realization noticeable. The most potent of these contributions being Regina-based film Wolfcop, which, during its production, helped get the message of change across.

With this out of the way, let us take a look at the nominees for the third annual Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards.

For the Best Feature Film, we have titles such as Basic Human Needs, The Land of Rock and Gold, and Regina’s own Patient 62 in the running. Personally, I hope that Patient 62 takes home the trophy, but that’s for obvious, completely unbiased reasons.

Moving along, we have Best Technical Achievement, where The Land of Rock and Gold is nominated once again for musical score. We also have Please Rate Your Experience and SAARI for Director of Photography and Picture and Sound Editing respectively. Assuming that these films have a smaller budget than most, it should be pretty interesting to see the achievements that these incredibly personal projects have managed to bring to life.

Next up is a category that’s a little closer to home, Best Student Film. This includes such films as Dreamers by Kolby Kostyniuk, Time Frame by Joel Kereluke, It’s Good for You by An An, and a familiar title in SAARI by Ella Mikkola. This is probably my favourite category just because it really shows what our generation can bring to the table, bringing the imagination of students to life.

From what I can see, it looks like the competition will be fierce going forward. I am very excited to see the ending results. In the event of sounding cheesy, however, someone may take home the trophy, but everyone will be a winner for making these wonderful pieces of art.

All in all, the field of talent looks like it will make for an incredible show and any film enthusiast worth their salt should definitely check it out. For those hoping to catch the awards in all their glory, they are on Thursday Nov 24 at the Artesian on 13th Avenue. Doors open at 7 p.m., entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m., and the show itself is at 8 p.m. $10 admission at the door.

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