February 26, 2020
Cabin fever, abandoned towns, a bewildering find at the local landfill and a Nanurluk (giant polar bear) are just a few of the thrills awaiting theatre-goers at the 8th annual Dead North Film Festival. A record 46 films will be showcased this year – including entries from Inuvik, Tulita, Norman Wells, Dettah, Fort Smith, Hay River, Dawson City, Iqaluit, and Sweden.
The festival runs February 27 – March 1 at the Capitol Theatre in Yellowknife with nightly screenings at 7:00 and 9:50pm. Between each of the 2.5 hour long screenings there will be an intermission featuring a Q&A session with several of the filmmakers.
New this year comes the very first Hyperborea Talent Lab. Nine filmmakers will have the chance to gain insights from three skilled industry mentors:
- Karen “Walty” Walton is best known for penning the Canadian horror classic Ginger Snaps and for her role as Writer-CoExecutive Producer on the critically-acclaimed science fiction series Orphan Black.
- Kelly Michael Stewart is the Founder/Festival Director of the Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS) that takes place every November in Toronto ON and is now in its 9th year.
- Jeff Barnaby made his feature film debut with Rhymes for Young Ghouls which premiered in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. Last year, Barnaby premiered his sophomore feature Blood Quantum at TIFF, as the opener for the festival’s Midnight Madness section.
"Dead North continues to be successful in challenging the Northern film community to create bold and visionary films. We are extremely grateful to the NWT Film Commission and Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment for their continued support of local, independent filmmakers and look forward to growing the industry together, one genre film at a time," says Jay Bulckaert, President of Dead North Film Festival.
The festival is touted as the world’s only circumpolar genre film-MAKING festival. Filmmakers have nine weeks to write, shoot and edit their films. In the festival’s eight-year history, roughly 220 films have been created, receiving over 33,000 online views. The likes of which have gone on to be screened at festivals around the world including: Cannes Film Festival, the Reykjavik International Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival, the Women’s Only Entertainment Film Festival, and Bloody Horror International Film Festival.
The NWT Film Commission has been a proud sponsor of the festival since its inception and has supported several of the filmmakers to screen their films around the world.
“Dead North plays an important role in our goal to increase local film making and capacity building, cultivate an environment of learning and mentorship, and increase the number of NWT films being screened on the national and international stage,” says NWT Film Commissioner Camilla MacEachern. “It’s a great chance for filmmakers to come together and have fun while celebrating their accomplishments.”