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A full lineup for ninth WFF

Whistler Film Festival will be screening 80 films, 80 per cent of them making their B.C. premieres

In less than a month, members of the filmmaking industry and the film-loving public will flock to Whistler to take part in the ninth annual Whistler Film Festival. Now, they can go online to check out the films that will be screened during this year's four-day event.

Stacy Donen, artistic director of WFF, joined the festival earlier this summer and was the key decision maker for this year's programming, working with a Los Angeles-based consultant to select the feature films and documentaries, and a separate film programmer to build an impressive roster of short films.

"It was important for me to really have a film festival that's different, that's our own place, a singular place, as much as when I look at films to find films that have singular voices, to find films that are about something, we want to be the same thing - we want to stand for something, we want to be a festival that means something to people," Donen said.

While the WFF will include some of the festival circuit favourites, it will also feature a lot of new material. The roster includes 80 films, with more than 80 per cent of them making their B.C. premiere, five making their Canadian debut and three making world premieres.

"I'm trying to just focus on what we can do well here and I'm interested in emerging filmmakers and discovering filmmakers," Donen said. "...To me, it's more of emerging filmmakers, of new talent, and I want Whistler to be a real focus on finding new talent and new films and discovery."

Donen is hoping that this approach will help WFF stand out from other popular film festivals.

"We're trying to grow as a festival, to carve out our own identity and have a place, and because of what Whistler is as an attraction, in terms of an intimate place where people gather or people want to be and continue to come to."

The programming is broken down into eight categories to make the festival easily navigable for everyone: Borsos, World Cinema, Documentary, Late Nite, Mountain Culture, Shorts, Whistler Stories and Family.

The end goal, really, was to ensure there was something for everyone at the festival, from industry folk and film buffs to the average Joe just looking to see something that isn't a mainstream box office bomb.

"It's all about sharing stories and connecting with people from around the world," Donen said.

"...I do hope that people do see more than one film because I think when you go to one film and you realize the energy in the room and that the filmmaker is there and you can ask questions, it becomes such an exciting event - it's not just going to see a movie anymore."

Making their world premieres at this year's WFF are Brian Nash's Out of the Woods , a film about the logging industry, René Brar's Taylor's Way , a feature-length thriller about women who disappear into Canada's wilderness, and Andrew Nisker's Chemerical: Redefining Clear For a New Generation , a documentary that takes a look at the use of chemicals in our daily life.

"In B.C. now, there's a lot of talk about culture because it seems to be disappearing from the budgets so I think as people living here, we can say that this is important to us, it makes a difference to who we are as individuals, it makes our lives better, it enriches us."

Donen describes the program of seven short films as an "amazing ride." The lineup includes a range of dramatic, fun and animated shorts.

Montrealer Jacob Tierney directed the opening night film, The Trotsky , which stars Jay Baruchel, who was featured in Judd Apatow films like Tropic Thunder and Knocked Up . It received the audience award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

"It's really a smart, funny film and at the same time, it's really about something, so at the end of the film, you're really inspired."

To see a full, detailed lineup and to purchase tickets, visit www.whistlerfilmfestival.com .

Best of the Borsos

The WFF's Borsos Prize holds a lot of clout in the filmmaking community. Named after the highly respected Canadian filmmaker Philip Borsos, the award recognizes the best new Canadian feature film of the year and carries a $15,000 prize, one of the Canadian film industry's largest cash prizes.

"We pick out six films from across the country and they're by emerging new filmmakers with a really singular, individual voice. So we put these together to try and spotlight these kinds of films that may not get that spotlight normally."

Six finalists have been tapped to compete for this year's honour: Sook Yin Lee for Year of the Carnivore , Alexandre Franchi's The Wild Hunt , Peter Stebbings's Defendor , Corey Adams and Alex Craig's Machotaildrop , Sophie Deraspe's Les Signes Vitaux , and Ryan Arnold's Skid Love . All of the filmmakers will be in attendance for the festival.

"The festival is also about connecting filmmakers, not only the audiences, and what they bring away from meeting people here also shapes their work and their creativity," said Donen.

This year, Ivan Reitman, director of popular films like Meatballs , Stripes and Ghostbusters will act as jury president. Reitman will also receive a special tribute at WFF on Friday, Dec. 4.

"...It's important to us to not only honour the new filmmakers that are out there, but ones that are part of our history, and I think it's important that we respect that," said Donen.