Prepare to lose yourself in the movies as the Shuswap Film Society presents the 24th Shuswap International Film Festival, Feb. 22 to March 2.
• Quartet: Friday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 4 p.m. – Preparations for the annual fundraising concert at a home for retired musicians is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Maggie Smith), the fourth member of the quartet whose three other members are already in residence.
• Mighty Uke: Saturday, Feb. 23, 10:30 a.m. – In this documentary about the little Hawaiian four-string, the filmmakers travel the world to discover why so many people of different cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves.
• A Happy Event (Un heureux événement): Saturday, Feb. 23, 1:15 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. – The film presents a thorough look at the life-changing facets of falling in love, getting pregnant, delivering a healthy baby and the challenges that follow.
• The Imposter: Saturday, Feb. 23, 3:40 p.m. –This documentary plays out like a psychological thriller. Nicholas Barclay, 13, went missing from his Texas home in 1994. Three years later, the family gets a call that Nicholas has turned up in Spain. Despite different eye and hair colour, a French accent and other discrepancies, the Barclays still believe they’ve found their son and brother.
• Amour: Saturday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m. – In old age, their beauty has faded, but a couple retain the “amour” of their long life together.
• Red Dog: Sunday, Feb. 24, 10:30 a.m., Friday, March 1, 7:30 p.m. – Based on true events, this is the story of a legendary, lovable red dog who roamed the Australian outback looking for his original master.
• Searching for Sugar Man: Sunday, Feb. 24, 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. – In the early 1960s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well-received but poor-selling albums. Unbeknownst to him, he had become a musical icon and underground superstar in apartheid-era South Africa.
• Hyde Park on Hudson: Sunday, Feb. 24, 3:40 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. – This film recounts the events of a weekend in June 1939 when King George VI and his wife Elizabeth visits Franklin Delano Roosevelt at his New York family estate in the hopes that America will join Britain in the threatening war.
• The Sessions: Sunday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, 4 p.m. – Based on a real-life story, this inspirational film follows Mark (John Hawkes), a Californian who, at 38, is confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child.
• Karakara: Monday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m. – Pierre has decided to pare down his life, renouncing sex and dedicating himself to achieving spiritual peace. But when Junko, a young Japanese woman, shows up at his hotel seeking refuge from an abusive husband, things don’t go as planned.
• The Well Digger’s Daughter (La fille du Puisatier): Monday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. – On the eve of the Second World War, 18-year-old Patricia cuts across the fields of Provence to take her father his lunch. On her way she meets the son of wealthy merchants and a fighter pilot about to be called up to the front.
• We Have a Pope (Habemus Papam): Friday, March 1, 4 p.m. – Following the demise of the pope, the conclave elect his successor. Unbeknownst to the faithful waiting in St. Peter’s Square, the cardinal has refused the office. This comedic drama details one man’s confrontation with too great a responsibility.
• Nothing to Declare (Rien à déclarer): Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m. – The story, set in 1993 during the elimination of the Franco-Belgian borders with the unification of Europe, centres on a racist, French-hating, trigger-happy Belgian, who is paired up, against his will, with a Frenchman. Much hilarity ensues.
All advance tickets must be purchased before 3 p.m. on the day of the film at Wearabouts. A $2 convenience charge will be applied. Tickets are $7 for a single, a five-film pass is $30 and a one-year pass is $175.
Reserved tickets may be purchased by Visa or MasterCard by phoning 250-832-2294.
Dress as your favourite diva or divo to win door prizes at opening night festivities this Friday, and enjoy refreshments and entertainment.
Second Harvest Food Bank will have bins for donations of non-perishable food items, and SAGA Public Art Gallery will serve a “reel lunch” Feb. 23 and 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
