Cinefest Sudbury gets ready to welcome tons of movie buffs

Morning North6:19Cinefest organizer describes local lineup

Sudbury's film festival will feature work from around the region and big name actors trying out roles that may surprise their fans.

Movie lovers will soon be able to get their fix, as programming for the 26th annual Cinefest Sudbury has been released.

The film festival begins in just a few weeks and will feature more than 60 locally and internationally produced movies.

The managing director of the festival said he expects at least 30,000 people to attend screenings this year.

So you'll notice one person walking out of one theatre. They've just seen one film, they're going into the next film, Patrick O'Hearn said.

And they do that back-to-back throughout the entire week. There's some people who brag that they see 40 films in a week, which is amazing.

New series

O'Hearn said this year's festival will offer a new series called "Behind the Scenes, which will feature talks from movie-making insiders about the art of filmmaking.

The film festival will also feature movies that were filmed in northern Ontario.

The festival has given locals a chance to make a career in the film industry, O'Hearn added.

The ability that these filmmakers [have to now gather] with their first features You couldn't do this, you know, five, 10 years ago without, you know, larger budgets. Some people are able to do some pretty amazing things with smaller budgets.

Cinefest begins on Sept. 13 in Sudbury. The opening gala of Cinefest will feature a film that was partially shot in the Parry Sound and Muskoka area. It's called "October Gale."