It’s a good month for Nova Scotian films: Two locally made movies that debuted at last fall’s FIN Atlantic International Film Festival have been picked up by movie monolith Cineplex. This all-too-rare bit of movie business means that, at long last, viewers have the chance to see these stories on the big screen.
First up is Dawn, Her Dad & The Tractor, showing March 4-6 at Cineplex Park Lane (5657 Spring Garden Road). A tender tale of a fractured family’s attempt at reconciliation, the flick is director Shelley Thompson’s first feature. The story traces a trans daughter’s coming home—and coming out to her family. “I think everybody's making films to change the world, on some level,” Thompson told The Coast at the film’s 2021 FIN Atlantic International Film Festival premiere. “I don't have any illusions, but of course I want my film to change the world and I want people to talk and I want people to be kinder and more humane and more accepting of the trans community.”
Later this month—on Friday, March 11—the Nova Scotian-made Wildhood hits theatres. A glimmeringly shot coming-of-age tale set in the golden hours of adolescence, the movie has had international buzz for its groundbreaking representation (the flick has a Mi’kmaq and English dub; the love story is between a 2-Spirit teen and a male-presenting pow wow dancer). It also made a splash for being the first COVID-era production to set up shop in the province, during an influx of productions that had film commission Screen Nova Scotia declaring 2021 as one of the best years yet for the industry. Keep an eye for exact showtimes on Cineplex’s website.
