Prince Edward County (PEC)âs first film festival, the County Adaptation Film Festival (CAFF) will host its first gala screening on May 4, 2024 at the historic Regent Theatre in Picton, Ontario as a preview event to its festival this coming September.
The conversation begins on May 4 with a screening of Hugh Welchman and DK Welchmanâs THE PEASANTS. Like the festival to come, this special engagement will feature an exclusive conversation with artists and an exciting activation which invites the audience to consider the art of adaptation. Alongside the screening, CAFF will also reveal the full festival branding, introduce the festivalâs participating venues and programming partners and share the full festival schedule.
THE PEASANTS is an adaptation of WĹadysĹaw Reymontâs Nobel Prize-winning novel CHĹOPI. Utilizing the painted animation audiences came to know in LOVING VINCENT, THE PEASANTS was hand-painted by over 200 artists in four studios in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Serbia over five years of production. Originally shot with actors, the artists put brush to canvas to create oil paintings that would become the frames in the film. Animators then worked to supplement the paintings to create the final product.
The preview event will feature an exhibition of original oil paintings created for the film, a virtual introduction by the filmmakers and a post-show discussion with one of the filmâs creative team. Paintings will have been selected for exhibition in partnership with the eventâs title sponsor Oeno Gallery.
âAside from being a visually stunning film, and a creative feat involving thousands of paintings and hundreds of artists, THE PEASANTS encapsulates the spirit of adaptation that our festival seeks to explore,â said Alexandra Seay, Co-founder & Artistic Director of CAFF. âOur festival invites audiences to think about the process of adaptation in all forms; in this case, from page to screen and from live action on greenscreen to oil on canvas. The film presents a jumping-off point for a multi-faceted conversation. I am utterly thrilled to be able to bring the physical paintings to Picton. Consider this a taste of things to come in September.â
Hugh Welchman will provide a virtual introduction to the film. But the eveningâs in-person guest will be Monika Folkierska-Zukowska who served on THE PEASANTS as a directorâs assistant, a visual effects artist, and a script supervisor. Ms. Folkierska-Zukowska will participate in an exclusive on-stage conversation on the process of adapting the film and the many visual influences on the painting.
CAFF is a project of Pictonâs Regent Theatre. The festival advisory committee includes Michèle Maheux, Hussain Amarshi, Tim Smythe-Bishop & Devyani Saltzman. The planning team features The Regent Theatreâs Executive Director, Alexandra Seay as Co-Founder and Artistic Director and John Galway of Corrib Entertainment as Festival Producer.
CAFF is proudly supported by its core funder, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and founding partner The Royal Hotel.
Venue and programming partners for the full festival will be announced on May 4. The 2024 edition of CAFF will take place from September 27-29, 2024.
Tickets to the May gala screening of THE PEASANTS are available now and can be purchased at the Regent Theatre box office or online here. 7PM screening with discussion following. Tickets $24 including tax and fees. Â
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