Eternal Spring will open this year’s Available Light Film Festival (ALFF). Hosted by the Yukon Film Society up in Whitehorse, ALFF is one of Canada’s northernmost film festivals. The festival returns to in-person screenings for ten days this year, followed by five days of online programming.
“We’re thrilled to expand this year’s festival to include more films and venues with the core of events taking place at the Yukon Cinema on Wood Street,” said Andrew Connors, Festival Director, in a release. “Our team is working hard to ensure we can offer not only the most screenings we’ve presented in the history of the festival, but also continued access to ALFF selected films on-line.”
ALFF kicks off on February 9 with Eternal Spring. Directed by Jason Loftus, Eternal Spring is Canada’s official submission in the Oscar race for Best International Feature this year. It is our first documentary submission. The film, which made POV’s list of the best docs of 2022, marks a unique collaborative work with artist Daxiong to convey in animation his story of censorship by the Falun Gong. Eternal Spring won numerous prizes at festivals worldwide, including the Audience Award at Hot Docs.
Also screening on the documentary front at the festival is Pleistocene Park, directed by Luke Griswold-Tergis. The film is a daring expedition into the research of Russian scientist Sergey Zimov and his wild idea to reverse the effects of climate change by returning to the climate of pre-Ice Age times.
Five dramas round out the first wave of titles announced for ALFF. They include the Canadian films Bones of Crows, directed by Marie Clements; Brother, directed by Clement Virgo; Riceboy Sleeps, directed by Anthony Shim; and the Yukon shot thriller Polaris, directed by KC Carthew. Charlotte Wells’ first feature Aftersun marks the international highlight so far of the festival, which anticipates a roster of over 100 titles. Festival passes are now available.
The 2023 Available Light Film Festival runs Feb. 9 to 19.
