The Available Light Film Festival returns February 8 to 18, featuring 44 feature films, five mid-length films and 35 short films.
This year marks the 22nd annual edition of The Yukon Film Society’s (YFS) Available Light Film Festival (ALFF), taking place February 8 to 18, at the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) and Yukon Theatre. This year’s festival program includes 44 feature films, five mid-length films and 35 short films. The 10-day festival run will also host live music and other performing arts events.
“From Hollywood movies to renowned international films and indie films from emerging filmmakers, ALFF ’24 has something for everyone,” commented Andrew Connors, festival director. “For the first time since 2020, we’re returning to the Yukon Arts Centre—taking over the territory’s largest screen for ten full days.”
Some of the feature films to be shown at this year’s ALFF are American Fiction, La Chimera, Raging Grace, Zone of Interest, Robot Dreams, The Queen of My Dreams, Waapake,The Green Border, The King Tide, The Old Oak, Physician Heal Thyself, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Taste of Things, The Teachers’ Lounge, How to Have Sex, The Promised Land, Perfect Days, Monster, Four Daughters, Tautukavuk, Suze, 500 Days in the Wild, Fitting In, and The Monk and the Gun.
Newfoundland and Labrador film The King Tide will open the festival on Feb. 8, with writer-director Christian Sparkes in attendance. The acclaimed film was the winner of the Best Atlantic Feature Film at the 2023 Atlantic Film Festival. The mystery-thriller is set in a small idyllic island village where a child with mysterious powers washes up on the shore, sparking a chain of events that sees the community plunge into a civil war, with those who believe the child is the next saviour opposing those who do not.
“We have an outstanding lineup of shorts, feature-length and documentary films from across Canada, Turtle Island, and the world—screening at the festival this year,” said Connors, “Our team has programmed the best selection of films, to date, from diverse filmmakers, including Indigenous, BIPOC and queer directors, as well as putting a special spotlight on northern films.”
Some other festival highlights include Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, winner of Best Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award at the Calgary International Film Festival; Ilker Çatak’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany’s official submission for 2024 International Feature Film Oscar; and Paris Zarcilla’s Raging Grace,
winner of the Grand Jury Award at SXSW, among many other exciting films.
Through its programming, ALFF ’24 aims to highlight Indigenous and Circumpolar cinema alongside Canadian and international films, guest filmmakers, exhibitions, an emerging filmmaker accelerator program, and the annual ALFF Industry Forum, which presents speakers and industry leaders from across the country. YFS is grateful for the continued annual support of Yukon Arts Operating Fund, Lotteries Yukon, and Canada Council for the Arts.
To learn more about ALFF and this year’s lineup, visit alff.ca. Tickets and passes can be purchased at yukontickets.com or by contacting the box office by phone at (867) 667-8574, or by email at boxoffice@yac.ca
