Atlantic International Film Fest kicks off in Halifax

CITYnews halifax \ By Steve Gow

Today marks the 43rd return of the film fest.

The week long Atlantic International Film Festival, now rebranded as AIFF, will run from Sept. 14 to 21 and showcase 115 feature and short films at Halifax’s Cineplex Park Lane Cinemas.

Tickets and passes are available on AIFF’s website as ticket bundles or festival passes, with discounts for both students and seniors.

This year’s highlights include the return of Halifax’s Elliot Page, who produces and stars in Close to You, the actor’s first movie appearance in six years.

Before that, the festival kicks off with the Opening Night Gala, a stylish family drama called Queen of My Dreams, which was partially filmed in cape breton.

“We are really excited to showcase this family drama as our opening,” AIFF program director, Lisa Haller tells CityNews Halifax. “It’s super vibrant, really unique and I think that there’s a lot to love about this film to love.”

The debut feature from director Fawzia Mirza premieres tonight at 7 p.m. at Park Lane Cinemas.

On Sept. 21, AIFF with wrap up with the Closing Night Gala featuring the musical film Flora and Son, directed by John Carney and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Eve Hewson, who is daughter of U2 frontman, Bono.

For more information, visit the AIFF website.