Thunder Bay International Film Festival Sneak Peek Coming to Area Schools
With just over two weeks to go until the official start of the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, Northeast Michigan students will be the first to get a sneak peek of the films this upcoming week. Daniel Moffatt, education specialist at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, explains what that will look like, “The Student Sneak Peak is an extension of the Thunder Bay International Film Festival. It’s where we take a selection of short films into area classrooms to get the students out there connected to the films that we’ll be showing here over the weekend.”
The team will travel across the region, showing the sneak peek at schools, theaters, and at the heritage center to inspire students. “We think it’s important because we’re bringing issues of the oceans and Great Lakes to the forefront,” said Moffatt. “After the films we do discussion and it brings up topics and inspires conversation around our blue planet and how to protect and engage with our marine environments.”
The group’s goal is to bring this event to five hundred students. This brings awareness to topics surrounding our waters and also insight on telling stories through film making. “These films are exclusive in some ways; they’re films that they wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else,” said Moffatt. “And film is such a part of everyone’s daily life; we watch it on our screens, and phones, and TVs. But, these independent films, they bring out some really cool artistic ways of storytelling. To have the discussions live with the students, those types of conversations are really fun to have.”
Later this month, the general public will have a chance for a film festival sneak peek at Presque Isle Farm Cider on January 23rd.
