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ALFF ‘24 passes on sale! The King Tide from Newfoundland & Labrador to open the Available Light Film Festival 2024

December 11, 2023

Writer-director Christian Sparkes’ The King Tide will open the Available Light Film Festival 2024 (ALFF’24) at the Yukon Arts Centre on February 8th with the director in attendance. This breathtaking mystery-thriller captures life in a small idyllic island village that exists in a world ounto itself. After a child with mysterious powers washes up on the shore, the community delves into a civil war, torn over the belief that the child is the next savior. The King Tide was the winner of the Best Atlantic Feature Film at the 2023 Atlantic Film Festival.

ALFF ’24 features 100+ films and events at the Yukon Arts Centre and the Yukon Theatre on Wood St. over 10 days. The 22nd annual festival presented by the Yukon Film Society takes place in Whitehorse, February 8-18. Telefilm Canada is the presenting supporter of ALFF '24.

“We have an outstanding lineup of shorts, feature-length and documentary films from across Canada, Turtle Island and the world screening at the festival this year,” says Andrew Connors, Festival Director. “Our team has programmed an incredible selection of films to date from diverse filmmakers, including Indigenous, BIPOC. and queer directors, as well as putting a special spotlight on northern films. We're also very excited to return to the Yukon Arts Centre for 10 full days of programming for the first time since 2020.”

ALFF ‘24’s All Access Festival Pass, 10 Film and 5 Film Passes go on sale December 11th. Festival passes can be purchased at an early bird rate until December 31st.

Early Bird Pricing

  • All Access Pass: $250
  • 10 Film Pass: $140
  • 5 Film Pass: $75

ALFF ‘24 highlights Indigenous and Circumpolar cinema alongside Canadian and International films, guest filmmakers, exhibitions, an emerging filmmaker accelerator program, and the annual ALFF Industry Forum, which presents speakers and industry leaders from across Canada.

As part of the festival, the ALFF Industry Forum (Feb. 9 – 12) includes online and in-person sessions and events at the Old Firehall and Yukon Theatre. Designed for both emerging and established filmmakers, ALFF Industry features funder presentations, industry panels, one-on-ones meetings with decision makers, ALFF Short Film Pitch Event and networking opportunities.

The Yukon Film Society is also pleased to offer the ALFF Accelerator mentorship program again this year. This is a specialized development program for emerging media creators, including writers, directors and producers. The program provides real-world skill development to produce documentary and fiction projects. ALFF Accelerator ‘24 is generously sponsored by Warner Brothers Discovery Access Canada and supported by Yukon Media Development. The Yukon Film Society is accepting applications until Monday, January 8th. The program begins on Saturday, January 27th and is a part-time commitment over 3 weeks. More details are available on alff.ca.

The Festival Premiere sponsors this year include: Canada Media Fund, Northwestel Community Television, Warner Brothers Discovery Access Canada, Air North, Yukon's Airline and the Strenwheeler Hotel and Conference Centre.

ALFF '24 Program Highlights – First Look

The King Tide, dir. Christian Sparkes, – ALFF ’24 Opening Film, Western Canada Premiere   

Starring an international cast and written by William Woods and Albert Shin, this mystery-thriller is set in the aftermath of a bad storm when the residents of a secluded East Coast island village discover a mysterious child awash on their shores. The only thing more curious than her origins is that the child possesses healing powers. Believing their island to be the best place to raise this miracle child, the village cuts themselves off from the rest of the world and keeps her existence a secret.

Physician, Heal Thyself, dir. Asher Penn

This character documentary by Vancouver journalist, Penn, who offers a searingly intimate portrait of the celebrated expert on addiction, stress, and trauma, Dr. Gabor Maté. Physician Heal Thyself follows Gabor's life's journey, from his start as a young contrarian columnist to a contemporary icon.

Robot Dreams, dir. Pablo Berger

DOG lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80s NYC. One summer night, DOG, with great sadness, is forced to abandon ROBOT at the beach. Will they ever meet again? Robot Dreams is a fantastical and heart-warming animation from Spain for people ages from 3 to 103.

Suze, dir. Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark

When her only daughter goes off to university, an empty nest mother gets stuck taking care of her daughter's heart-broken ex-boyfriend, who she can't stand. This smart Canadian comedy starring American, Michaela Watkins (Casual, Veep, The Dropout) is smart, tightly paced, and sympathetic in its absurd and a touching exploration of the transformative power of unlikely friendships.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, dir. Ariane Louis-Seize

Ariane Louis-Seize’s deadpan horror comedy finds droll humour in the plight of a young Montreal bloodsucker who can only feed on people for whom she feels sympathy. Winner of Best Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award, Calgary International Film Festival.

Tautuktavuk (What We See), dir. Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk

The latest film from the Inuit film studio: Isuma. After experiencing a traumatic event in Igloolik, Uyarak leaves her community and family in Nunavut to live in Montréal. When Covid-19 lockdowns close off the Canadian Arctic from the rest of the world, Uyarak is further separated from her closest friend, eldest sister, Saqpinak. This extreme situation blurs the lines of both the fictional lives of the sisters, and the non-fiction lives of the film's directors creating evocative, drawn-from-life tale as the two siblings’ attempt to heal and overcome trauma during the pandemic.

The Teachers’ Lounge, dir. Ilker Çatak

When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her in The Teachers’ Lounge, a morality tale turned thriller. Germany’s official submission for 2024 International Feature Film Oscar. 

Hey Viktor!, dir. Cody Lightning

This darkly hilarious, often raunchy, meta-mentary from Alberta is about a washed-up former child actor, played by director Cody Lightning who played ‘Little Viktor’ in Smoke Signals., In the self-produced mockumentary, Lightningwho decides that the only way to get back on track is to recreate his glory days with a belated sequel to the landmark 1998 indie movie that put him on this path. Cue Smoke Signals 2: Still Smoking…

The Promised Land (Bastarden), dir. Nikolaj Arcel

Set in the mid-17th century, the story of Ludvig Kahlen who pursued his lifelong dream: to make the Jutland heath, an unforgiving area populated by wolves and highwaymen, bring him wealth and honour. in an unforgiving area populated by wolves and highwaymen. This riveting Danish period drama revolves around Mads Mikelsson’s simmering visage, a performance we could watch all day.

Sweetland, dir. Christian Sparkes, Western Canadian Premiere

The scarcely populated town of Sweetland rests on the shore of a remote Canadian island. Its slow decline finally reaches a head when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement package—the sole stipulation being that everyone must leave. Also directed by St. John’s filmmaker Christian Sparkes, Sweetland is a drama that’s Newfoundland Gothic drama in tone about the modern story of resettlement based on the award-winning Michael Crummey novel.

WaaPaKe, dir. Jules Arita Koostachin

For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal and uplifting documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow, in Cree) moves beyond intergenerational trauma, with an invitation to unravel the tangled threads of silence and unite in collective freedom and power.

The Old Oak, dir. by Ken Loach

The future for the last remaining pub, The Old Oak, in a village of Northeast England, where people are leaving the land as the mines are closed. Houses are cheap and available, thus making it an ideal location for Syrian refugees.

Perfect Days, dir. Wim Wenders

One of several films in this year’s Available Light directed by a cinema master, Wim Wenders’ latest work, Perfect Days, is an effervescent film that trades the beatific performance of its lead actor with iconic rock and jazz songs by Nina Simone, The Animals, Lou Reed and Patti Smith. Hirayama works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. He seems content with his simple life. He follows a structured daily routine and dedicates his free time to his passion for music and books. Hirayama also has a fondness for photographing for trees and photographs them.

The full program for ALFF’ 2024 will be released on January 8, 2024.

Learn more about the festival at alff.ca. Tickets and passes are available at yukontickets.com, or contact the box office by phone: (867) 667-8574 or Email: boxoffice@yac.ca.

YFS gratefully acknowledges the annual support of Yukon Arts Operating Fund, Lotteries Yukon and Canada Council for the Arts. Mahsi Cho, shäw nithan, kwanalchish to all the public funders, sponsors, community partners, artists, audiences, filmmakers, distributors, boosters, industry presenters, festival staff, venue staff and volunteers who participate and support cinema and film creation in the Yukon.

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