Inaugural Film Fest For Slackers
Slackers Film Festival Set To Screen Films In April
From the minds of film-making brothers Brett and Jason Butler comes a new film festival, dedicated to independant films that centre around people.
Substance Productions, helmed by Brett and Jason Butler, is producing this event for independant film-makers. When asked why they wanted to do this, Brett, the younger Butler brother said, "We didn't come across any festivals that had this niche - they all seemed to be about experimental and documentary films and so this allows us to showcase films that we like and would like to see on screen."
In regards to submissions, Butler says a lot of the submissions came via postings on the internet. Most of the films that were submitted and accepted into the festival are from Toronto, including Drop Box, Sixty Days, The Behaviour Of Houses, and Alive and Lubricated.
"We wanted to keep the festival local, to promote film-makers here in Toronto. They are more likely to come and bring their friends out if they're local" Butler says. These films, combined with international favourites Buried in Tucson and Rick’s Canoe as well as Canadian cult comedy gem Brewster McGee round out the feature length films being screened at the festival. "One of the films directors is coming from the United States, and is really excited about it - he wants to help the festival out any way he can."
CineForum is a unique film theatre in Toronto, in the Bathurst and College area. It is located in the basement of a house, and can house 20-25 people at a time. "This is the perfect venue for the event - it's casual, and is comfortable. People can sit back, watch some films and have a beer or two" states Butler.
When the time comes to planning the 2nd Annual Slackers Film Festival, Butler hopes that they will be "in a larger venue with more screenings and more beer."
After the festival, the Butler brothers are heading to Indiana, to screen Confusions Of An Unmarried Couple at the Indiana University Film Festival. In fact, they are closing the festival. After that, they are heading overseas to the 2nd largest film festival in the United Kingdom, the Swansea Bay Film Festival.
When they return home, they have something else to look forward to - the release of a film they starred in, entitled The Notorious Newman Brothers, directed by Ryan Noel. The Butler brothers play the Newman brothers in this comedy/mockumentary about the lives, toils and troubles of the siblings. Newman Brothers will be released later this year.
The inaugural Slackers Film Festival is set to be held in Toronto on April 19th and 20th, 2007 at CineForum. For more information in regards to screening schedules and ticket information, visit the Slacker Film Festival website, at www.slackersfilmfest.com.
