P.E.I. film Bluefin to make U.S. premiere at Santa Barbara Film Festival

P.E.I.-based filmmaker John Hopkins' most recent documentary,Bluefinhas been accepted to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in the "social justice" category.

Though the film was first screened at the Atlantic Film Festival in Sept. 2016, and won Best Atlantic Filmmaker at the LunenbergDoc Fest, theCalifornia festivalwill mark its U.S. premiere.

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This is the biggest festival to screen the documentary yet and Hopkins hopes this is just the beginning.

"They say it's a festival which is really important because it can springboard you to other big festivals around the world," said Hopkins.

'Things are going to keep taking off'

According to Hopkins, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has received numerous inquiries about the film andthere are plans for screenings "at over 100 libraries across Canada."

He also said the NFB has been getting questions about educational distribution throughout the U.S.

The director is sure "things are going to keep taking off."

"It's a red carpet festival, a lot of big Hollywood stars, a lot of Hollywood shows up there," he said.

And Hopkins isn't wrong,the people appearingare a who's who of this year's Oscar nominees: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Jeff Bridges, Dev Patel.

"It's pretty prestigious to even be selected."

'Little dark horse'

Hopkins hopes the bigger stage will help bring attention to the bluefin tuna and "what an incredible creature they are."

He also acknowledges that his 53-minute film may not winagainst 75 and 90-minute documentaries.

"We're kind of like the little dark horse going up against the big docs," he said.

The film will be screening on Feb. 5 and 6 in at the festival in Santa Barbara.

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