A new film festival launches Wednesday and it's guaranteed to scare you.
The Bay of Blood Film Festival brings the best local and international horror and thriller movie to North Bay. The four-day creep show begins tonight, April 19, at the Galaxy Cinemas at 300 Lakeshore Drive in North Bay. The show begins at 7 p.m.
And to celebrate National Canadian Film Day, organizers are offering free entrance to both of tonight’s films, one of which is a block of horror shorts followed by the feature film Slash/Back at 9 p.m.
For the full schedule and more information about the films, check out the festival’s website at www.bayofblood.ca.
The festival was founded by Seb Godin, Stevie Lyons, and Clayton Windatt, local filmmakers with a love for horror. “We came up with the idea to make a horror film festival last fall,” explained Windatt, “and by the end of the year, we had our call for submissions posted and had built our website. It is still just the beginning, but things have gone very fast.”
Already, the festival is attracting the attention of filmmakers from around the world, and this first festival will showcase 49 films, including five feature-length movies and 44 shorts. Many are from international filmmakers, but the organizers were keen to make room for local productions as well. After all, they’re local filmmakers themselves.
“It’s great to be able to support local and emerging filmmakers alongside some of the world's most talented people,” said Windatt. “That was one of the reasons why we set out to make this festival happen.”
Godin is also thrilled with the selection of films the crew put together for their first festival. “When Clayton Windatt asked me to lend a hand with this festival,” Godin said, “I never imagined it would lead to such an exciting slate of movies coming to North Bay! With screenings of Canadian features like Slash /Back and Underneath: An Anthology of Terror to international shockers like Blades in the Darkness and Holy Mother (a big coup for me personally as I have been a fan of Yoshihiro Nishimura's work for a long time now), this is unlike anything North Bay has had before.”
The trio is not working alone, though, the organizers explained. They have help from Reel Canada, which conducts National Canadian Film Day each year, the local staff at Galaxy Cinemas, and a gaggle of volunteers that are excited to come out to support the festival in its first year. For Lyons, this is vital to both fans and the sector itself.
“Film festivals play such a crucial role in the entertainment landscape, both by providing a safe space for artists to showcase their work as well as introducing audiences to films that they never would have encountered otherwise,” Lyons said.
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The organizers also want to remind folks that most of the films screened are unrated, and not intended for a general audience. “Viewer discretion is strongly advised,” Godin said, “especially for those not seeking a good scare.”
Most of the screenings are at Galaxy Cinemas and tonight’s two shows are free. Starting tomorrow, each show is $10 per screening, $15 for the day, or $40 for a full-festival pass and can be purchased on-site with cash or in advance online via www.bayofblood.ca.
On Saturday, the festival moves to Nipissing University’s Weaver Auditorium.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
