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Wading through the WFF lineup

The film festival's director of programming offers insight into this year's 85 movies
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big screen Felicity Jones stars as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex, a Focus Features release. PHOTO by jonathan wenk/ Focus features

Initially, Paul Gratton, director of programming for the Whistler Film Festival (WFF), has 15 minutes for a quick interview to discuss this year's massive festival offerings.

No problem; he's a busy guy and the 18th edition of the annual event is a mere two-and-a-half weeks away.

But when Gratton picks up the phone to chat from his home city of Toronto, that time limit goes out the window. Although he's heading into his seventh year choosing films for the festival, it turns out he's still pretty excited about this year's selections—set to screen from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.

"I think it's our best-ever (lineup)," he says.

Then he adds, with a laugh, "I know it sounds like I say this every year."

Particularly if you're not a film buff, it can be hard to peruse a list of films and decide which to see, but in recent years WFF has proven it picks plenty of buzzed-about Oscar nominees, alongside its more indie offerings.

"We spend our time with our ear to the ground and hearing the buzz—and Variety is one of our sponsors; they follow the Oscar stuff closely," Gratton adds.

With 85 films in total—50 features and 35 shorts—festivalgoers will have to explore the lineup to map out their weekend. But Gratton offered insight into a few of the selections he's excited for audiences to see.

Roma

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, this semi-autobiographical film about a maid who works for a middle-class Mexican family, might be set for release on Netflix later in December (Gratton predicts it could earn the streaming service its first Oscar nod), but there's a reason you want to see it in theatre first.

As part of the condition to screen it, the festival has to bring in special equipment for 4K projection (normally films are at 2K) with 7.2 Dolby sound.

For the average person "it means the image will be even crisper than you normally get," Gratton says. "In terms of sound, it will have seven different points of sound emission scattered around the theatre ... It's completely masterful. If the story is working, as a viewer who's not a film critic, you won't notice; you'll just get engulfed in the film."

Mary Queen of Scots

Opening up the festival with a bang is Mary Queen of Scots, featuring not one, but two of last year's best actress nominees at the Oscars, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.

The film stars Ronan as Mary Stuart who is attempting to reclaim her seat as the Queen of Scotland from Elizabeth I, played by Robbie.

"This film is so beautiful, it's jaw dropping," Gratton says. "You could take any frame from that movie and it could be a Renaissance painting ... I predict it'll win for best costume."

Momentum Generation

In case you haven't picked up on the pattern, the WFF deliberately picks a high-quality film that will particularly appeal to Whistlerites for its closing film.

And while snow sports might hold top billing in their hearts, surfing isn't far behind for most. To that end, this year you can catch the Canadian premiere of Momentum Generation as the closer.

Directed by award-winning filmmakers, Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, the documentary uses archival footage to offer a look at the teenage lives of the biggest names in surfing, including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Kalani Robb and the late Todd Chesser.

"I'm not a surfer, but I found it engrossing," Gratton says. "There's a real storyline to it. It's not just 'look at the waves.' This tells a story that's quite compelling."

On the Basis of Sex

The Canadian premiere of the biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could not be more timely, Gratton points out.

In fact, on the day he spoke to Pique, news emerged that Bader Ginsburg had fallen and had to be hospitalized for three fractured ribs, leading to an outpouring of well wishes from many Americans.

"You don't necessarily want to start with the biggest film and go downhill; the same way we built to I, Tonya last year, this year we're building to On the Basis of Sex," Gratton says. "No movie captures the zeitgeist of what's happening in society better."

To that end, it's worth noting that this year, 46 per cent of WFF films feature a female director—including this one with Mimi Leder at the helm. "We're getting really close to parity, which is the ultimate fantasy for everybody," Gratton adds. "But that's about 10-per-cent higher than most of the major film festivals."

Hugh Hefner's After Dark: Speaking Out in America

Fresh off a screening as the only Canadian film at the Telluride Film Festival, this documentary features archival footage from the short-lived TV show Playboy After Dark.

It turns out the show wasn't what you might imagine. The program, which ran from 1969 until 1970, was billed as progressive, not only for its range of guests, but also because it featured many black musicians and performers who would not have been seen on other talk shows at the time.

On top of that, "it's amazing to see these people," Gratton says. "It's like a time capsule."

Claire's Hat

This Bruce McDonald film is technically getting its world premiere, but Gratton has seen it screen before.

"The film was shown once in 2002 at a private screening for his friends," Gratton says. "It's never been shown since. I saw it, but that screening in Toronto doesn't count; it was just for friends."

Here's the story: the lauded filmmaker might have made his mark on the Canadian film landscape, but in 2001, he released a flop called Picture Claire.

"It was a disaster," Gratton says. "It screened at TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival) and his ego was so damaged, he was so hurt that he made a movie about what went wrong called Claire's Hat. It's about the shit that goes on behind the scenes in a movie, but here it is, revealed."

It's the "ultimate insider revelation about how you can screw up a movie when you're given too much money," he adds.

Anna and the Apocalypse

Speaking of behind-the-scenes, insider secrets, did you know that Gratton likes to sneak in at least one obscure, edgy film each year?

This year that gem is Anna and the Apocalypse.

"It's a zombie musical set in Scotland at Christmas," Gratton says. "It's unique—a bit Rocky Horror Picture Show, but more Broadway-style ... I said to myself, 'This is what film festivals are about—even if it doesn't attract the biggest crowd in Whistler.'"

Free Solo

This film has certainly been buzzed out amongst outdoor enthusiasts, but you might find it a little lower on festival billing for one good reason: it's screening at many mainstream theatres right now. But realizing that it wouldn't be coming to Whistler's theatre, Gratton decided to toss it on the bill to offer Whistlerites the opportunity to see it at home.

Oh yeah, there's also the fact that "it's the most mind-blowing documentary about mountain climbing," he says. "(Climber Alex Honnold) is attacking El Capitan with no safety net."

The National Geographic film chronicles the mind-blowing feat of Honnold climbing all 2,307 metres of the Yosemite vertical rock formation—with no ropes.

"He plans every fingertip grip and toenail grip on the way up there, but if he miscalculates, he's dead," Gratton said.

To see the full lineup or to purchase tickets or passes, visit whistlerfilmfestival.com.