U of R talent featured at International Film Festival

By Dale Johnson Posted: August 16, 2017 2:00 p.m.

Film buffs are in for a treat with the second Regina International Film Festival and Awards (RIFFA) on this week.

Students, faculty and staff from the University of Regina are involved in this community event.

The festival, which includes 44 feature and 55 short films from 46 countries, is being held from August 16 to 19. Ten per cent of films are world premieres, 20 per cent are Saskatchewan premieres and 70 per cent are Canadian premieres. The films are being shown at the Cineplex Odeon in the Southland Mall.

One student film from the U of R has been nominated in the "Universal Student Film" category. The movie is called Dreamers and was written and directed by U of R film graduate Kolby Kostyniuk. Earlier this year, Dreamers won the “Best of Saskatchewan” award at the Living Skies Film Festival in Regina.

The festival also includes panel discussions on the film industry.

Women in Film on Thursday, August 17, from 1:20 to 2:50 p.m. at the Cineplex Odeon in Southland, looks at challenges women face in a male dominated industry, and the moderator is Crystal Van Pelt.

There is also a panel entitled Crossing Borders: Whose Story Is It? organized by Trevor Grant of the U of R’s School of Journalism. Grant is also on the board of the RIFFA. This panel discussion, on Friday, August 18, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. also at the Cineplex Odeon in Southland, will look at the increasing ethical challenges filmmakers face in choosing stories to tell.

The promotional material says: "During a time of societal conversations about political correctness and debate about cultural appropriation are there limits to artistic expression and if so, why and who defines and regulates cultural authenticity?”

The moderator is Merelda Fiddler-Potter, who teaches at the First Nations University of Canada primarily with the Indian Communications Arts Program and Indigenous Studies, as well as at the School of Journalism.

Other board members of the RIFFA include Philip Charrier, a professor of History at the U of R, and Arturo Segura, Associate Director, UR International Relations and Partnerships.

The festival concludes with the awards ceremony on Saturday, August 19, at the Main Theatre in the Riddell Centre at the University of Regina.

Click here for complete details of the Regina International Film Festival and Awards.

For more information please contact Arturo Segura at 306-337-2943 or arturo.segura@uregina.ca.