With the passing of the three-week countdown to the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) all eyes are on this year's Borsos Competition.
The Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature is open to all Canadian dramatic features with Western-Canadian premiere status at the festival.
This year, 20 films will compete for Canada's second-largest film festival prize of $15,000.
The films on show include eight world premieres featuring work from WFF alumni, including Pat Kiely with Someone Else's Wedding; Prodigals directed by Michelle Ouellet; Jackie English's first feature Becoming Burlesque; Gail Harvey's crime thriller Never Saw It Coming, based on the novel by Linwood Barclay; Nobody Famous directed by Sarah Rotella; plus three features from Vancouver-based directors, including 8 Minutes Ahead by Ben Hoskyn, shot over the course of four years in Vancouver and China; The Prodigal Dad, a homegrown flick directed by Robert Wenzek; and The Cannon directed by WFF alumnus Marshall Axani, who won the inaugural MPPIA Short Film Award.
The Borsos is not the only competition at WFF — there are 14 film awards in all, with over $146,500 in cash and prizing ($31,500 cash and $115,000 in prizes).
These include the World Documentary Award; the Mountain Culture Award, presented by Whistler Blackcomb; the International ShortWork Award; the Canadian ShortWork Award ($1,000 cash award); the BC Student ShortWork Award ($500 cash award); the MPPIA Short Film Award ($15,000 cash award plus up to $100,000 in production services), presented by MPPIA; and Creative BC, the Alliance of Women Female Journalists (AWFJ) EDA Awards for Best Female-Directed Narrative Feature and Best Female-Directed Short Film; and the Audience Award (to be announced on Dec. 4).
Get your tickets at www.whistlerfilmfestival.com.
ARTprès SKI
Don't miss this party at the Audain Art Museum Sunday, Nov. 12. starting at 8 p.m.
The evening of art, entertainment, food and drink is inspired by the museum's newest exhibition, Stone and Sky: Canada's Mountain Landscape.
This unforgettable party will feature a showcase of Whistler's mountain culture, including après-inspired food and beverage-tasting stations, DJ Vinyl Ritchie and DJ Flipout spinning 45" vinyl records, stunning visuals from Magnetic — a Whistler Blackcomb movie — and a temporary art installation featuring a history of ski and snowboard topsheet art from Prior Skis and Snowboards.The evening is presented by the Audain Art Museum, The Westin Resort & Spa, and Gibbons Après Lager.
Earthsave Film Screening: The Last Pig
Earthsave Whistler and Whistler Public Library are presenting a screening of The Last Pig, along with speaker Mike Quigley, chef at Olives Community Market.
The event will be in the community room at the library on Wednesday, Nov.15 starting at 7 p.m.
The Last Pig is a lyrical meditation on what it means to be a sentient creature with the power to kill. Deeply immersive, the film follows a farmer in his final year of slaughtering pigs. Through sparse, intimate musings, the farmer reveals his growing conflict over a life spent "peddling in death."
The film is not rated.
Polar Bear Dip and Feeding the Spirit
Ready to freeze your buns off?
Yes, it's that time of year again when Whistler Community Services Society and Whistler Blackcomb host the annual Polar Bear Dip as part of Connect Whistler Week.
Last year, 185 people took the plunge. This year's swim will be held Friday, Nov. 10 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Lost Lake.
Also part of Connect Whistler, the Whistler Museum is hosting Feeding the Spirit that night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Newcomers to Whistler, as well as anyone who wishes to join in, can head to the museum for some food and to explore the exhibits.
Admission is free and there will be Whistler trivia and prizes donated by local businesses — everyone is encouraged to learn about our town's unique history!
