The International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) promises a vast collection of films to suit all interests, and is set to take place March 13 to 24 on screens across Ottawa’s downtown core.
IFFO 2024 offers “quirky comedies, dark psychological thrillers, coming of age films, and historical and political dramas” — as well as three documentaries to boot, including a feature on the Loch Ness Monster, according to Tom McSorley, executive director of the Canadian Film Institute.
The three venues for this year’s festival are the Ottawa Art Gallery, the Bytowne Cinema and the Mayfair Theatre — the last of which is just up the street from Carleton University.
Lee Demarbre of the Mayfair Theatre told the Charlatan the IFFO is the “most significant film festival since the Ottawa Film Expo back in the 1980s,” adding that he’s excited the IFFO inspires and unites community.
“I’ve attended a few engagements put on by the IFFO, and from time to time I’ve brought along with me some young, inspired filmmakers,” he said. “I’ve seen these filmmakers be inspired by what they saw, experienced and heard at the festival.”
At the IFFO launch event held Feb. 13, McSorley announced the March 13 opening night film for this year’s festival will be Seven Veils, a 2023 drama starring Amanda Seyfried and written and directed by Atom Egoyan.
The film follows theatre director Jeanine (Seyfried), who is struggling with repressed trauma as she attempts to put on a production of the opera Salome.
This year, IFFO will screen 28 Ottawa premieres of Canadian films and more than 20 other films from countries around the world, including Argentina, Mongolia, Costa Rica, Japan, Iran, Sweden and more.
One of the international films at this year’s festival is Chuck Chuck Baby, written and directed by Wales’ Janis Pugh.
The film follows Helen, a worker at a chicken factory in present-day North Wales. When she’s not working, Helen cares for Gwen, her elderly mother-in-law. Unexpectedly, Helen’s life gets flipped upside down upon the return of her old crush, Joanne, who moves back into town following her father’s death.
In an interview with the Charlatan, Pugh said people seeing Chuck Chuck Baby for the first time should “go with it and not question anything.”
“It’s a film about love, death, grief, loss and the bond between women and what they can accomplish when they’re together, through friendships and love,” Pugh said.
Chuck Chuck Baby wrapped after a quick 26-day shoot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The cast was going down hit by hit, and we knew our time was limited, so it’s really a testament to the great crew,” Pugh said. “They made everything work.”
The film was very personal for the London-based director, as it was set in locations where she spent her childhood.
Pugh said she wanted to shine a light on the lives of working women she was familiar with growing up, who she gives a platform to through her sophomore cinematic piece.
What inspired the film’s creation?
“A crazy world,” Pugh quipped. “I felt it needed a bit more love.”
Chuck Chuck Baby will be on the silver screen at the Ottawa Art Gallery on March 15.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/the Charlatan.
