MUFF x Christie Pits Film Festival
The most excellent Christie Pits Film Festival is back once again and once again we will be co-presenting a film from their incredible line-up! This year their theme is "Eyes On The Prize" and it features "films about competition, camaraderie, and the drive to win." Props to their programming department because each year the theme gets better and better.
The MUFF Society (or more specifically, our documentary program HER-Story) will be co-presenting CPFF’s screening of Bee Nation (dir. Lana Šlezić) on Sunday, July 30th.
If Bee Nation sounds familiar, that's bee-cause (hehe) it made waves as Hot Doc's Opening Night Film at this year's festival. It went on to wow and charm audiences for the entire festival. We had the opportunity to see it and thought it was beautiful. From The CPFF website: "Bee Nation tells the story of First Nations kids competing at the highest level in the provincial and national spelling bees. Eschewing stereotypes and cliches about life on the reserve, the kids and their families of Bee Nation are presented as they are: ordinary people doing the best they can in the face of overwhelming social and economic disenfranchisement. Tackling thorny issues of language, culture, and assimilation with tenderness and nuance, the film is equal parts inspirational journey and call to arms for Canadians to face up to our ongoing legacy of colonialism."
We were particularly impressed with how the film approached these urgent issues while never sensationalizing the subjects and still maintaining a sense of hope. It's a must-see documentary, now more than ever.
The film will be preceded by two short films: Dear Scavengers (dir. Aaron Phelan) and The Cuber (dir. Chris Frampton), both of which also focus on children competitors.
As always, the films will begin at sundown, but you’ll definitely want to arrive and stake out a spot on the grassy Christie Pits hillside (oh, did we mention that it’s BYOBlanket??) Plus, you won’t want to miss the eats and treats starting at 6:00pm! Grab your choice of Venezuelan snacks from The Arepa Republic, coffees from Macchina Mobile, and desserts from Millie Desserts! The event is free/PWYC but we urge everyone to donate to our pals to help keep CPFF going for more years to come!
RSVP HERE.
Christie Pits Film Festival will be screening films every Sunday night this summer from June 25th to August 20th, so make sure you check out their website and get their entire summer line-up in your calendars!
