Festival showcases ‘cool, clean, compelling’ films from around the world
WINNIPEG, MB—It was 2010, and Paul Boge was at the famed Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. when he says he felt the Holy Spirit nudging him to create his own film festival.
“God said, What if we did a film festival in Winnipeg?” says Boge, who was at Sundance to accept an award for his 2009 film, Among Thieves.
When the 40-year-old got back to Winnipeg, he got to work organizing the first Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival, which took place in March 2011.
Now in its fourth year, the 2014 edition of Real to Reel happens February 18-23 at North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church. Over the course of six days, the festival will feature films and documentaries from around the world, as well as opportunities for discussion after each screening.
Boge says that while a film does not need to be expressly Christian to be included in the festival, all of the films need to have a redemptive theme with no nudity, no suggestive scenes, no gratuitous violence and no profanity.
“That’s ultimately what separates us from a lot of other film festivals,” he says. “These are cool, clean, compelling films that in some way, shape or form have to be interesting. They have to challenge our thinking … and give some thought to evaluating the human condition.”
Boge says he had no idea how many people to expect at the first festival, and had been told that 50 people each night would be a good showing. More than 1,200 people came over the course of six evenings in 2011, and that number has grown each year since.
Highlights of this year’s festival include Mary of Nazareth, a film that chronicles the mother of Christ from her childhood through the resurrection of Jesus; Grace Unplugged, a film about a teenager who wrestles with her faith as she chases her dream of being a pop singer; Home Run, in which a baseball player struggling with alcoholism is rehabilitated and then rebuilds his life as he coaches a Little League team; and Lost Medallion, a film for young people in which two teenagers uncover an artifact that transports them back in time.
Courtesy GraceUnplugged.com
Boge says the festival focuses on featuring films that have good stories, regardless of their budget. A few of them will be making their Canadian debut at the festival, and a handful were even made by Winnipeg filmmakers.
That’s the case for Jacked, a short comedic film by Winnipeg actor and director Ernesto Griffith that explores what happens when a 90-year-old woman believes her car is being stolen in a mall parking lot.
Griffith made his debut at the festival in 2011 with the feature film Billy, and says that since then, Real to Reel has become like home.
“I had a great experience the first year … and I’ve been back every year since,” says Griffith, adding that Real to Reel is comparable to the other film festivals he has traveled to across North America.
“It’s right up there, even in terms of the audiences. I’ve been to festivals where you’re in the theatre and there are 30 or 50 people. You go to Real to Reel and the place is packed. Some of the largest audiences I’ve seen have been there, and it just gets bigger every year. It’s incredible.”
Boge gives God the credit for the festival’s success.
“I’m very, very thankful,” Boge says. “The big underlying factor to all of this is prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit.”
For details about this year’s Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival, visit www.winnipegfilmfestival.com.
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