Lineup set to be unveiled as Forest City Film Festival hits 10-year milestone
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The Forest City Film Festival is set to kick off its 10th year screening films in London, many with a Southwestern Ontario connection, and ticket sales start this week.
The festival will start selling tickets to a few select films online on Monday, and it will announce a new film every day for 15 consecutive days, making tickets available that day, said Dorothy Downs, the festival director.
“We feel we need to talk about these movies sooner. They’re so important to our culture, they need breathing room” away from the festival itself, Downs said. “We feel it’s important to bring them into the light now.”
The festival will be held from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2, and it will feature about 100 films and events during 10 days.
But the festival is teasing a select lineup of 15 films beginning Monday, Downs said. “We made these selections based on how important we think they are to the community and it’s time we speak about them.”
On Oct. 24, the festival will open with a music video night featuring music videos from artists across London and Southwestern Ontario, live performances, including by singer Amanda Keeles, and an awards presentation for music video production, Downs said.
“Our submissions are up and the quality is through the roof. We have three films in competition also playing at TIFF (the Toronto International Film Festival),” Downs said of the upcoming season.
“There’s so much for London audiences. We hope we’ll get the attention of everyone who loves movies and culture.”
TV writer David Shore quit law, followed his heart
The festival will present its lifetime achievement award to David Shore, the Emmy award-winning writer and producer. Last year’s recipient was renowned London actor Victor Garber.
Shore won an Emmy for his work on the hit TV series House. He has written for The Good Doctor and was part of the writing team of the Emmy Award-winning first season of The Practice.
“It’s not just the people in front of the camera who deserve our admiration, it’s also the creators and this festival supports creators,” Downs said. “Many people will not know about him and they should.”
Shore was twice nominated for an Emmy as a producer on Law and Order and was executive producer of both Family Law and Hack before creating House. He has written for Due South, NYPD Blue and served as head writer and supervising producer on Traders.
He graduated from Lucas secondary school in 1975, then Western University and University of Toronto law school.
His IMDB page states he got his first break writing for the TV series Seinfeld, and was once a standup comedian named “funniest person in London.”
The festival’s regular features, including Indigenous film screenings, international movies, the youth film festival and the Ontario Screen Creators’ Conference – a showcase of workshops for film industry professionals – also return with an expanded format and more offerings, Downs said.
“This festival has grown organically over 10 years and we have added to it every year. It has now become a collection of incredible cultural events,” she said.
For the Sept. 18 lineup announcement, there will be a free public party at Museum London from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., she said.
The festival has been selling ticket packages since June.
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“We’ve never launched season passes so early,” Downs said. “After years of sharing exceptional films, we know our audience trusts the quality of our programming.
“We’re confident they’ll be excited to grab their all-films passes early, not only to enjoy big savings, but to be first in line for some of the world’s best films this year.”
Festival events and screenings will be held at Wolf Performance Hall, Imagine Cinema in Citi Plaza downtown and Museum London. For more information, click here.
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