Spring Canadian Film Series kicks off April 19th

The Milton Film Festival will once again be showing great Canadian movies in the Gambrel Barn at Country Heritage Park through April and May, starting with a free screening on National Canadian Film Day.

The Spring Canadian Film Series kicks off on April 19th with Oscar-winner Sarah Polley’s brilliant directorial debut AWAY FROM HER, starring the late Canadian actor and icon Gordon Pinsent as a man struggling to cope with his wife’s institutionalization due to Alzheimer’s disease. The film also stars Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis.

AWAY FROM HER was nominated for two Oscars and won seven Genies, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, among many other awards.

The screening is part of National Canadian Film Day – a nation-wide celebration of Canadian film presented by ReelCanada and currently marking it’s 10th year. Those attending this free screening are invited to donate in support of the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

On May 3rd, the documentary REVIVAL69: THE CONCERT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD tells the untold story of “the second most important event in rock & roll history” – a one-day festival held at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium just a few weeks after Woodstock, that united rock legends like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bo Diddley with The Doors and a then-unknown Alice Cooper. But it was the 11th hour arrival of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their first public performance with the Plastic Ono Band that truly made history.

The film will be followed by a recorded interview with director Ron Chapman and long time MFF host and author Ron Base – who actually attended the concert in 1969!

The third film in the series is VIKING – a hilarious and timely comedy from Quebec director Stéphane Lafleur that was voted one of the best Canadian films of the year. The film, which screens on May 17th, follows a group of people working in an isolated location on earth as a “B team” to mirror the events of the first crewed mission to Mars, in the hopes of solving the interpersonal problems among the astronauts that have impacted the real mission.

VIKING premiered in the Platform Prize program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival where it received Special Mention for Best Canadian Film, and has been nominated for a remarkable 13 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture.

Tickets for REVIVAL69 and VIKING are $12 each. For more information, ticket sales and a donation link, go to https://mffspring23.eventive.org.

The Milton Film Festival’s Spring Canadian Film Series is supported by the Town of Milton Community Fund, Director Level Sponsors Allegra Marketing Print Mail and Matador Eyewear, and other MFF sponsors.