WIFF weekend kicks off with the 'worst film of all time'

One of the actors from the 2003 cult classicThe Room referred to by many reviewersas the "worst film of all time" will be at the 2018 Windsor International Film Festival when it's screenedFriday night.

It's not the only highlight during WIFFweekend, however, as submissions to the newly-coined Mark Boscariol48-Hour Flick Fest where local filmmakers were given just two days to put together a short film will be revealed.

But those aren't the only highlights this weekend, according to WIFF's executive director Vincent Georgie.

The Room

The film centers on Johnny, a man who has it all; great friends, a good job, and a gorgeous fiance named Lisa.

But Lisa's innocent act masks the fact that she's looking to bring Johnny down, and her manipulations are tearing Johnny apart.

As Lisa informs her cancer ridden mother, Claudette, that Johnny hit her (which he certainly did not), Johnny's best friend, Mark, finds his resistance to Lisa's seductive charms weakening.

"A couple weeks ago, we bought 4,000 plastic spoons, because what you do in this screening is you throw plastic spoons at the film ... This film is considered the worst film of all time," said Georgie, addingactor Greg Sestero, who plays Mark,will attendthe screening.

The Roomwill play Fridayat 11:59p.m. in the Capitol Theatre.

The Russian Five

Sports and politics clash in this compelling documentary about five Russian hockey stars who defected to America to join the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s, leading to the team's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.

The team's fans and rivals alike nicknamed the team "the Dead Wings" after enduring fifteen seasons of futility.

However, newly hired general manager, Jim Devellano came up with an audacious plan to infuse new talent into the club, turning his attention toward the Russian Red Army team, one of the most dominant collections of hockey talent ever assembled.

The team's hockey players were members of the military and icons of the regime's sports supremacy, closely watched for fear they might defect to the high paying NHL.

Through a number of covert encounters reminiscent of an espionage film, Devellano and his talent scouts enticed first Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Viacheslav Fetisov, and later Vyacheslav Kozlov and Igor Larionov, to defect to America and join the Red Wings organization.

The Russian Five will be screenedthree times in the Capitol Theatre twiceon Saturdayat 1:35p.m. and8:20 p.m.and once on Sunday at 8:20 p.m.

Frozen Sing-A-Long

When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna, a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa, the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell.

So what's different about the "Sing-A-Long" version?

The WIFF screening will feature lyrics on screen to help you sing along with Anna and Elsa during the film.

"We've got Anna and Elsa to getus into a vocal warm-up and people are invited to show up in costume," said Georgie.

Frozen Sing-A-Long playsSunday at 1:40 p.m. in the Chrysler Theatre.

Cold War

Cold War is a passionate love story between a man and a woman who meet in the ruins of post-war Poland.

With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatefully mismatched and yet condemned to each other.

Set against the background of the Cold War in 1950s Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris, it's the tale of a couple separated by politics, character flaws and unfortunate twists of fate an impossible love story in impossible times.

"It's in black and white. It's got lots of jazz, lots of politics, lots of sex, lots of vodka. It's the epitome of what a great film festival film is," said Georgie.

Cold War will be screened Sundayat 6p.m. in the Chrysler Theatre.