Program
The 2009 alFresco filmFesto schedule
Friday, July 24
*Rain Date: Saturday, July 25
Sponsored by Delta Barrington & Halifax
Mamma Mia! The Movie
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd - 108 mins, 2008
Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Ashley Lilley.
Inspired by ABBA's famed song book, Mamma Mia! is a musical celebration that you can sing along with in this feature-film adaptation of the worldwide hit musical.
An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna is about to see her daughter Sophie get married. She has invited her two lifelong best friends from her old backing band, Donna and the Dynamos – little does she know Sophie has secretly invited three special guests of her own.
On a quest to find the identity of her father, Sophie brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise. Over 24 chaotic hours new love blooms and old romances are rekindled on this island full of possibilities
Want more info? Click here.
Friday, July 31
*Rain Date: Saturday, August 1
Sponsored by Nova Scotia Power Inc.
Harold and Maude
Directed by Hal Ashby – 91 mins, 1971
Starring Ruth Gordon, Bud Court, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, Ellen Geer.
A young man with a death wish and a 79-year-old high on life find love in Hal Ashby's cult black comedy.
Harold is a deadpan depressed and death-obsessed 20-year-old man who spends his free time attending funerals and pretending to commit suicide in front of his mother. Maude is a 79-year-old woman with a penchant for the absurd who has a zest for life that he has never seen before.
After meeting at a funeral she and Harold begin to spend much time together during which she exposes him to the wonders and possibilities of life. After Harold rejects his mother's three attempts to set him up with a potential “respectable” wife, he announces that he wishes to marry Maude. However, Maude has a valuable lesson to teach young Harold about making the most of his time on earth.
Want more info? Click here.
Friday, August 7
*Rain Date: Saturday, August 8
Sponsored by Port of Halifax/Halifax Seaport
Dead Poets Society
Directed by Peter Weir – 128 mins, 1989
Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Allelon Ruggiero, Gale Hansen.
In 1959, the Welton Academy is a somber but well-respected prep school where education is a sensible and dull affair. For several students that is all about to change when a new teacher comes to the school. John Keating is an unconventional educator who tears chapters of his textbooks and asks his students to stand on their desks to see the world from a new angle. Keating introduces his students to poetry, and his free-thinking attitude and the liberating philosophies of the authors he introduces to his class have a profound effect on his students, especially Todd, the young student with aspirations to be a writer; Neil, who dreams of being an actor, despite the objections of his father; Steven, an intellectual who learns to use his heart as well as his head; and Charlie, who begins to lose his blasé attitude. Keating urges his students to seize the day and live their lives boldly - but when this philosophy leads to an unexpected tragedy, headmaster Mr. Nolan fires Keating, and his students must leap to his defense.
Want more info? Click here.
August 14
*Rain Date: Saturday, August 15
Sponsored by Admiral
The Breakfast Club
Directed by Jon Hughes – 97 mins, 1985
Starring Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy.
Five high school students living in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois, are stuck weekend detention but to them they may as well be serving a prison sentence. They’re all from different worlds - the All-Star Jock, the school’s Crown Princess, a Rebellious Derelict, the Hapless Nerd, and the Mysterious Lout. To them, they have nothing in common other than being locked together in a library and forced to write an essay for their hardnosed principal. Even though personalities clash and teenage shenanigans ensue, the group ends up learning that some things are universal – including the pangs of growing up...
This classic film from the mind of Jon Hughes, the writer/director who singularly was able to get into the hearts and minds of a generation of teenagers growing up in the 80s is arguably his most loved film of the “Brat Pack” era.
Want more info? Click here.
August 21
*Rain Date: Saturday, August 22
Sponsored by Encana
Peter Pan - A Disney Animated Original
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson - 76 mins, 1953
Starring the voices of Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried as Captain Hook, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel.
Based on the classic 1904 play by Sir James M. Barrie about a boy who refuses to grow up, the film begins in the London nursery of Wendy, John, and Michael Darling when Peter Pan visits the three children.
With the help of his tiny friend, the adorably sassy fairy Tinkerbell, Peter takes the three children on a magical flight to Never Land. This enchanting island is home to Peter, Tinkerbell and a cast of unforgettable characters including the Lost Boys – who like Peter refuse to grow up, Tiger Lily and her Native American nation, and the nemesis Captain Hook who is as intent on bringing down Peter Pan to settle an old score. With all this fun and adventure who knows if the Darling children will ever want to return to their home – or ever grow up.
Want more info? Click here.
August 28
*Rain Date: Saturday, August 29
Sponsored by Waterfront Development Corporation Ltd.
Pulp Fiction
Directed by Quentin Tarantino - 154 minutes, 1994
Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames.
Writer-director Quentin Tarantino visits the seedier side of Los Angeles with this broodingly funny, violent, and tongue-in-cheek tribute his cinematic influences. The film interweaves three tales, told through circular, fragmented vignettes that only fully connect by the time the final credits roll.
The first story focuses on Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, two polar opposite hit men on duty for Marsellus Wallace whose gorgeous wife, Mia, takes a liking to Vincent. Whilst a down-and-out boxer who is ordered throw a fight decides that there's more money in doing the opposite. In the end all roads lead to a pair of lovers as they prepare to hold up a diner. But like everyone else in the film – their plot does not go according to plan.
The all-star cast takes on characters that boast typical Tarantino-eseque cool to create a film that has changed the way an entire generation views independent film.
Want more info? Click here.
