Horror film lovers in Saskatoon can rejoice as an independent film festival centering on the genre has been resurrected from its cold and silent grave.
The Dark Bridges Film Festival originally formed in 2009 and eventually evolved into The Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival. This change was made in an effort to reflect the shift in programming from strictly horror flicks to a wider range of films.
But this year, the festival is returning to its horror roots.
Assistant festival director Jeff Drake said folks attending the Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival (SFFF) kept asking him when they would be bringing back Dark Bridges. The SFFF draws a great crowd, he said, and is the one of the only film festivals in Canada to have remained in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drake attributes this to the popularity of the festival among the film community and the diligent work of the Broadway Theatre, who he said went above and beyond during their reopening to keep patrons safe.
The pandemic required the theatre to reduce its seating capacity for a while, but that didn’t stop patrons from attending and exciting guest speakers from signing on to do Q&As and workshops. Drake noted that for the size of a city like Saskatoon, there is a very passionate film community.
The programming team consists of four people — including Drake — who all watched more than 40 feature-length films and 50 shorts in order to bring the best possible lineup to Saskatoon. Drake said the original goal was to show two features per night, but the team received so many quality submissions that the three-day festival is now jam-packed with three features every night and a short film at the beginning, if time allows. With Dark Bridges returning from its hiatus and the Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival still taking place in November, the programming team will now be busy year-round vetting submissions.
When asked if his team was prepared for all the work it takes to program two festivals per year now, Drake said the payoff was well worth it.
“It’s so much work. But coming home from work and sitting and watching horror movies isn’t bad at all,” Drake said.
Drake noted that the goal of the programming team is to grow the Dark Bridges Film Festival to be similar in length and scope as the Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival, which is roughly nine days stretched over a weekend.
While horror movies might not be everyone’s idea of a nice Cabin in the Woods, and may in fact give some folks Tremors or make them Scream, the horror genre itself has had a bit of a renaissance over the last decade. Popular horror films like The Conjuring, It, Get Out, and Hereditary have gained mainstream attention in recent years.
Drake said that audiences of the festival can expect a wide range of horror films that they would not typically have access to on streaming services. The festival has also programmed a substantial number of films by first-time directors, as well as three female-directed features and five international films.
The Dark Bridges Film Festival will run from Wednesday, June 1 to Friday, June 3 at The Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon. The full schedule of films along with their trailers and ticket purchasing information can be found on their website darkbridges.com.
