Photo by Mya B.
On Thursday, November 1st, grade 11 English students from St Joseph's were able to have the rich cultural experience of attending the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF). The festival began in 2005, and 2018 marked its 13th year of bringing incredible films to the people of Windsor.
As a way to experience different perspectives and films, students made their way to the festival for an exciting and enriching field trip. The students could choose to see one film in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The films being screened in the first session were “Just a Breath Away,” “Giant Little Ones,” and “American Chaos,” and in the second session, “Journey’s End,” The Intouchables,” and “The Silent Revolution” were shown.
The festival took place at three different venues located in the city; the Capitol Theatre, the Chrysler Theatre, and the Windsor Armouries, a creative arts building at the University of Windsor. Each theatre was filled with fellow visiting high school students, as well as film fans of all ages, everyone eager to see new and intriguing films, including many made by proud Canadians. Guests were treated to interesting movie trivia beforehand, which only added to the knowledge gained from this event.
As for the movies themselves, students were impressed with their selected films, and the ride back to school was full of discussion and debate about the films. One student had this to say about the film “The Intouchables.” “The film was amazing, and I really enjoyed the acting and humour.” As well, grade 11 Melanie T. thought that "Giant Little Ones" was a very realistic film. "I thought it expressed a lot of feelings teenagers go through in high school, and it touched on a lot of problems that we face today."
Overall, it seems that the trip to WIFF 2018 was an entertaining and educational outing, where students had the chance to witness Canadian filmmaking, as well as gain insight into the vast variety of stories that can be told through film.