WAKEFIELD FESTIVAL DU FILM INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL DE WAKEFIELD Wakefield, 2012 A word from WIFF’s Artistic Director

Selecting the films for WIFF is a challenge, a joy and a responsibil- ity. It’s a challenge because I have to dig deep to uncover and secure Je n se Niels Photo: films which usually have had very limited exposure; a joy because I get to consider such a wide spectrum of subject matter; and a responsibility because, when I can only pick seven films out of the past year’s global output of documentary films, I have to choose very carefully to find the ones that I think will appeal. As WIFF’s reputation grows the challenge part gets easier. An example: Jennifer Baichwal’s new film Payback, based on ’s exploration of debt in all its forms, was having its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival this January. Brenda and I were lucky enough to see an unfinished edit shortly before the premiere. Jennifer and her cinematographer partner, Nick de Pencier, had so enjoyed talking to the WIFF audience via Skype after Act of God two years ago, they immediately said yes to us when we asked for it. As WIFF moves into the Great Hall for the first time, debt seems a fitting concept to conjure. We all owe a debt to the dedicated filmmakers who persevere to get their films made. Tickets: Single $10, available online We all owe a debt to each other for the contributions we make at www.wakefieldfilmfestival.ca or to building our community. at the door. And when I think of some of the people that we, as a Passes: $60 (7 tickets for the price community, owe a debt to—namely the dedicated volunteers of 6). Available at Molo’s or on-line who have kept our library going for so many years—it is fitting at www.wakefieldfilmfestival.ca. that we open this year with a film about a public reader. Limited number available. Robert Rooney, Artistic Director, WIFF

Carnets d’un grand détour (Notes on a Road Less Taken) February 19 Director: Catherine Hébert (2011) | 94 mins | Canada | Language: French & English with English subtitles Sponsored by Desjardins Caisse populaire de Masham Opening Gala Reception provided by Charles IGA Marc Roger is a public reader. With a donkey laden with books he walks from St. Malo, Brittany to Bamako, Mali, giving public readings along the way. Quebec filmmaker Catherine Hébert accompanied this white griot for nearly eight months to create a deeply personal portrait of Africa and its people. Every day, thousands of Africans trek northward, seeking a better life. But this is the road less taken. An engrossing chronicle of an extraordinary adventure. DATES: Sundays from February 19th to April 1st, 2012 TIME: 5:30 p.m. LOCATION: The Great Hall, Wakefield La Pêche Community Centre, 38 Valley Road, Wakefield, Quebec TICKETS: Single $10, available online at www.wakefieldfilmfestival.ca or at the door. Festival Passes $60 (7 tickets for the price of 6), available at Café Molo or online at www.wakefieldfilmfestival.ca. Limited number available. More information: 819-456-4020 or www.wakefieldfilmfestival.ca

Putin’s Kiss February 26 Director: Lise Birk Pedersen (2011) | 82 min | Denmark | Language: Russian with English subtitles Masha, an ambitious teenage girl, is seduced by the energy of the Russian youth movement, Nashi. Her star rises when she becomes the protégé of Russia’s Minister of Youth. She has posed with her political icon, Vladimir Putin—and on one occasion, even kissed him. As a Nashi spokesperson she debates opponents on television, including journalist Oleg Khashin, who claim there is a darker side to Nashi. Although they passion- ately disagree, Masha and Oleg become close friends. Masha is soon in trouble with Nashi and when “unknown perpetrators” attack Oleg, she realizes that she has to take a stand. This film has been scheduled one week before the Russian Presidential Election (March 4, 2012) and will be followed by a 2012 Sundance Film Festival Winner of the World Cinema panel discussion. Cinematography Award for Documentary Filmmaking Sing Your Song March 4 Director: Susanne Rostock (2011) | 105 min | USA | Language: English Sponsored by the Wakefield General Store Harry Belafonte is one of the truly heroic cultural and political figures of the past 60 years. Sing Your Song charts his life from his discovery of the American Negro Theater and the magic of performing, through his emergence as a star and development into a champion for worldwide human rights. From the jazz and folk clubs of Harlem and Greenwich Village to Mississippi, Africa, and South Central Los Angeles, Sing Your Song takes us on a journey through Belafonte’s life, work and, most of all, his inspirational conscience. You’ve Been Trumped March 11 Director: Anthony Baxter (2011) | 95 minutes | United Kingdom | Language: English Sponsored by Pharmacie-Brunet American billionaire Donald Trump has bought up hundreds of acres of an environmentally sensitive coastline in northeast Scotland to build the world’s greatest golf course. Opposing him is a handful of local residents who refuse to sell. What begins as an amusing clash of world views grows increasingly bitter and disturbing—including the arrest of director Baxter and his producer, Richard Phinney. For the tycoon, the golf course is just another deal, one with a possible billion dollar payoff. For the locals, it represents the destruction of a globally unique landscape that has been the backdrop for their lives. Producer Richard Phinney will attend for a post-screening discussion.

Revenge of the Electric Car March 18 Director: Chris Paine (2011) | 90 minutes | USA | Language: English with French subtitles Sponsored by Hamilton Motors. Reception by the Wakefield Mill For three years, director Chris Paine (Who Killed the Electric Car?) was granted unprecedented access to electric car R&D programs on condition that he would release no footage until 2011. Tesla CEO Elon Musk puts his personal fortune on the line. Bob Lutz, GM’s Vice Chair, stakes the entire brand on the very technology it once tried to kill. Nissan’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn, bets the farm on a car almost no one believes can happen. And Greg ‘Gadget’ Abbott sets out to prove you can do it yourself. If they succeed the prize is the reinvention of the car without gasoline. Thank you to our festival supporters

Large Screen Home Theatre Specialists Hotel Spa Inn (819) 459-1838 Meetings Dining www.wakefieldmill.com Retreats Music West Wind: A Vision of Tom Thomson March 25 Directors: Peter Raymont & Michèle Hozer (2012) | 95 minutes | Canada | Language: English How did an illustrator, whose favourite pastime was fishing, find within himself the passion and confidence to portray Ontario’s lakes, rivers, trees and skies with glorious colour and energy as no one had before? What is it about Thomson’s life, art and death that haunts us still, that draws thou- sands each year to his cairn at Canoe Lake and propels his little oil sketches into the stratosphere of the Canadian art market? Shot in Algonquin Park, Georgian Bay, Seattle, and Toronto, and featuring never-before-seen paintings by this iconic Canadian artist.

Payback April 1 Director: Jennifer Baichwal (2011) | 82 minutes* | Canada | Language: English with French subtitles Fresh from Sundance Film Festival. Jennifer Baichwal (Act of God, WIFF 2010) undertakes the ambitious task of cinematizing Payback, Margaret Atwood’s visionary book of essays about systems of wealth, justice, and reparation. From feuding clans in Albania to migrant tomato pickers in Florida, Baichwal’s astonishing juxtaposi- tions stimulate provocative associations with Atwood’s ideas. Both visceral and revelatory, Payback plunges us deeply into reconsidering the roots of social inequity, what we value, and debt’s profound role as an organizing prin- ciple in our lives—one that shapes relationships, society, and the fate of the planet.

*At time of printing the final edit of Payback was still being completed and so running time was not known.

Wiff TEAM Artistic Director: Robert Rooney Technical Crew: Miriam Campbell, General Manager: Brenda Rooney Rink de Lange, Robert Moeller, Publicist: Melanie Willis Michelle Oser, Jeremy Plante, Lise Richard, Emma Rick-Hyde, Designer: Zoé Lindsay Andrew Rooney, Neal Sundet Translator: Gisèle Lamontagne Front of House/Box Office: Webmaster: Rob McCart Gisèle Lamontagne, Communication/Algonquin Kimberley Mansfield Shorts Liaison: Melanie Willis