Just wanted to let you know that things are progressing nicely. We have been working hard at lining up both short and feature films for the festival. I fully expect that in the next couple of weeks we will start selling passes for the festival plus we should be announcing the first of our films. The festival is really growing into something more than we had originally planned with films that will push the boundaries of what you are used to seeing here in Saskatoon. So, keep watching in the weeks to come!

Tickets will go on Sale for the festival in July. We are currently working on the price for a full festival pass and also for tickets for each film. We will have an early bird sale on passes for July and August.

Dark Bridges is also sponsor this Friday’s midnight screening of Harry Brown. It is showing with the Spanish short film Painter of the Skies. Tickets are $10. No Passes accepted. Feel free to let everyone know about the event through Facebook.

The majority of the movies screened through Dark Bridges come from the genres of Fantasy, SciFi, Horror, Anime, Martial Arts, and Genre Documentary. However, If you feel your movie is interesting enough yet doesn’t fit into an easily classified genre please still submit your film for our consideration as we love to push boundaries and would love to look at your film.

Head on over to our film submission page and submit your short or feature film for consideration.

A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind dangling high off the ground with no way down.

With the resort closed until the following weekend and frostbite and hypothermia already setting in, the trio is forced to take desperate measures to escape off the mountain before they freeze to death. Once they make their move, they discover with horror that they have much more to fear than just the frigid cold. As they combat unexpected obstacles, they start to question if their will to survive is strong enough to overcome the worst ways to die?

Colore Non Vedenti

The film, “Colore Non Vedenti”, is an homage to 70’s Italian cinema and 80’s genre offerings.

Tickets are $10.00.

Come on out and support Genre film and if you can’t make it tell your friends about this cause it will be a hell of a good time.

“CURTAINS” The Ultimate Nightmare! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoxhyBpQP-8

And not only that, but we’re pairing it up with another film to make it a double-feature WHERE YOU GET TO PICK THE SECOND FLICK!

That’s right! We’re letting YOU VOTE for what you wanna see along with “Curtains!” So head on over to http://www.badmonsterfilms.com to vote! Voting ends Friday Feb. 5th at midnight! And then come down to the Broadway Theatre on Saturday Feb. 20th to see two great, and extremely rare, films on the big screen!

Your choices include:

• Alligator (1980) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgby2AXt1kA
• The Grim Reaper (aka Anthropophagus) (1980) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIiMp3jtJQ
• Mausoleum (1983) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDiQHbHgb0
• They Call Me Bruce? (1982) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymEnfvz2wbU
• The Doberman Gang (1972) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMupA9_wLcw

So again, visit http://www.badmonsterfilms.com to vote!

As always, we’re giving away prizes, you can buy concession items, we’ve got t-shirts for sale, and our famous 35mm trailers before the feature!
———————-
CURTAINS | 1983 | Canada | Rated R | 89 + 90 (second feature) mins | 35mm
Saturday February 20th, 2010
11:00 PM screening at the Broadway Theatre
715 Broadway Ave, Saskatoon, SK
$15 / advance tickets available at the Broadway Theatre box office

*Synopsis
Black, a Senegalese bank-robber born and raised in France, is getting over a disastrous heist in which he lost nearly all of his men. He’s seriously thinking of going straight when his cousin Lamine calls him from Dakar: a briefcase full of contraband diamonds has just been deposited in the bank where he works. Thinking this will be an unbelievably easy coup, Black assembles a new gang and quickly flies to Africa, where he’s never set foot. What they haven’t planned, however, is that they are far from being the only ones interested in that briefcase. The corrupt director of the bank, an arm dealer suffering from suppurating psoriasis, a gang of mercenaries from Chechnya and an Interpol agent are also set to get their hands on those diamonds. With a funky soundtrack, BLACK delivers a heist film filled with action and peppered with comedy and mysticism.

*Credits
Director: Pierre Laffargue
Actors: MC Jean Gab’1 (Banlieue 13), Carole Karemera, François Levantal, Anton Yakovlev.

*Festivals
SXSW presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight – SXSW Film Festival 2009
Seattle International Film Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival
Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Karlovy Vary Fresh Film Fest
London Film4 FrightFest

*Award
Bronze Audience Award – Best European or American Film – Fantasia International Film Festival

*Reviews
****
Eye Weekly

“Kitchen-sink filmmaking at its most sublime… …a righteously bombastic musical soundtrack… …the film is a rolling ball of smooth energy… Black is all about pounding out tunes while transitioning from one badass heroic action set-piece to the next”
Kurt Halfyard, Twitchfilm

“Black is a heist film like no other, a film that marches to the crazy beat of its own drum and funkadelic tunes. Ambitious and groovy, Black is a big gooey gobstopper rolling at breakneck speed in its swirling colorful glory, picking up these random characters and antagonists on its perilous plight.”
Andrew Mack, Twitchfilm

“…Pierre Laffargue manages to nearly reinvent the genre… Black’s balance of humour, action, and exoticism is undeniably energizing. It’s slick without being too flashy, and MC Jean Gab’1 turns in an immensely likeable performance.”
Al Kratina, The Gazette’s Ciné File

“…Black stands up remarkably well as a psychedelic homage to ’70s era B-movies. …a bumping soundtrack that brings as much to the film’s atmosphere as Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”
Christopher Sykes, The Montreal Mirror

“BLACK is a superior French / African exploitation film – and its director, Pierre Laffargue, is somebody to watch. … recalls the conceit of Blaxploitation films, but in a thoroughly modern and artistic way. (…) The soundtrack is napalm f*cking hot! (…) Jean Gab’1’s performance and character just screamed – I’M A STAR!”.
Harry Knowles, Ain’t it Cool News

“It’s gloriously lunatic. (…) BLACK percolates like that first, strong cup of coffee in the morning – with no bitter aftertaste.”
Peter Martin, Cinematical

“… anyone who genuinely enjoys black-American cinema of the ‘70’s in all its forms is in for a huge treat, a movie that manages to mix African mysticism, blaxploitation, and the heist thriller into something that felt truly original. (…) I loved it… and I’m willing to bet others will, too. Once again, Fantastic Fest and SXSW have uncovered another gem.”
Drew McWeeny, Hitfix

“…the second craziest movie of this year’s SXSW Film Festival. (…) BLACK is the latest cinematic salvo from France, and once again you’ll be wondering what the hell is in their drinking water. (…) … it’s definitely a wild and unpredictable ride. Laffargue is a director to watch, and I’m curious to see what he’ll do next.”
Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Tickets are available in advance for $25.00, and available at the following link via Picatic.
http://www.saskatoonsymphony.org/index.php/component/content/article/20/107-silence-is-golden.html

In addition we have decided that any good festival must also have shorts so we’ve lined up Dead Walkers, Road to Moloch, Fallow and Elder Sign. We’ve set up prizes from both Anchor Bay Entertainment and also Evokative Films.

So, overall things have been pretty hectic but really good. There is some other stuff happening but I’m not going to talk about it till I get things a bit more finalized. I learned my lesson after having told a few friends about Trick ‘r Treat and having it not happen so from now on I am going to be more secretive.

I hope everyone is enjoying the occasional post on setting a festival up. I know that I am having a great (but hectic) time figuring this all out and I really do believe that if I can do this then anyone can.

There will be a meeting in the next couple of weeks. The Roxy Theatre has agreed to let us use their board room for meetings so it will likely take place there but I have not set a time or date yet. Keep watch here and on the Facebook Group for the time and date. I would love to see a bunch of film fans come out and show their support because the success of the festival is really dependent on the fan base here in Saskatoon. I am sure that there are enough of you that we can create one of the best Genre Film Festivals in Western Canada.

Finally, we will be looking at setting up the webpage (which includes creating a design for this blog also) in the next couple of weeks. So keep watch and check back often. We are in the initial stages and things are happening quite quickly for now. I’m sure they will slow down a bit later in the year but for now there should be news quite often.

The Roxy Theatre is located in the Riversdale neighborhood of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Built during the onset of the Great Depression. The interior was decorated in a Spanish Villa style with the walls covered with small balconies, windows and towers that gave the impression of quaint Spanish village. The ceiling was painted in an atmospheric-style (dark blue and had twinkling lights set in the plaster) to give the impression of the night sky. The Roxy was for a time called the Towne Cinema, then closed in 1995. It was purchased and restored by Rainbow and Magic Lantern Cinemas, and reopened under its original name in 2005. (Source: Wikpedia)

After talking to the Roxy people I realized that something along the lines of the festival I have planned means more than just showing some really cool under seen and under appreciated films, it is another step in revitalizing Riversdale area. Suffice it to say I am even more pumped than I was originally was.

You can check a few more shots of the theatre over at our facebook group. While there I would suggest joining. I will be providing more information about the festival there as well as here on the site.