The 9th annual Whiskey Creek Festival is planned at the Cozy Theatre in Wadena from Sept. 12 through Sept. 18.
The Whiskey Creek Film Festival Association produces the festival each year.
The festival came about nine years ago when Wadena resident Jamie Robertson took the idea for the festival to Cozy Theatre owner Dave Quincer. The annual event has operated with the same rules since its beginning, namely to screen some of the very best films, all in current theatrical release, that are available across the nation. Today, a committee of 10 persons helps select the films and helps coordinate the events of festival week.
This year, organizers report, there is a wonderful mix of films. "Boyhood," the new film by Richard Linklater made during a period of 12 years, depicts the same actors for a few days each year. Another wonderful character study in the festival lineup is "Calvary," starring Brendan Gleeson, a powerful tale about Ireland and about a priest confronted with the very complex lives and motivations of his parishioners.
"Snowpiercer," a science fiction allegory in a post-apocalyptic world, and "Land Ho!," a comedy about two 60-somethings traveling across Iceland, provide the type of counterpoint that helps make the festival so successful, organizers said, adding there is a movie here to interest just about everyone.
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"Chef" and "A Most Wanted Man" complete the basic six-film selection for this year. Tickets to the festival are available for purchase at the Cozy box office and the Harvest Thyme Bistro in Wadena, the Cultural Center in New York Mills, and Beagle Books in Park Rapids. A festival pass provides admission to all six feature films and costs $30. Individual tickets are sold at the Cozy Theatre box office.
The Cultural Center offers a 25 percent discount for purchases at its New York Mills location to everyone who buys a festival pass. And Harvest Thyme Bistro in Wadena has a "buy one-get one free" offer for an entrée at the Bistro for anyone who buys a festival pass at the Bistro, too. Tickets are also available at the Cozy Theatre box office, at Beagle Books in Park Rapids, and online at Brown Paper Tickets. A link to online ticket purchases is on the Whiskey Creek Film Festival website.
The festival features free movies as well. Families will enjoy "How to Train Your Dragon 2," screened on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And award-winning short films by local filmmakers and selections from the Rural Route Film Festival will be screened on Saturday and Sunday. A complete schedule of movies is posted on the Festival website, www.whiskeycreekfilmfestival.org .
The Whiskey Creek Film Festival is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and by the Wadena Convention and Visitors Bureau. Additional funding is provided by businesses serving the Wadena region, all of whom are featured on the Whiskey Creek web page.
