The Calgary International Film Festival’s silver anniversary will be a star studded affair, with Hollywood stars Peter Dinklage and Leslie Grace walking the red carpet for a showing of Alberta-shot The Thicket.
The film, shot in and around Calgary in 2023, is a dark western thriller starring Dinklage that explores justice, vengeance, and unlikely companionship between a band of unlikely heroes including an ex-slave grave digger and a street-smart, woman-for-hire in Texas.
“I couldn’t be prouder to be announcing The Thicket as our Opening Gala film. This is a year where we have so much to celebrate – 25 years of film in our history, and the start of a new era for CIFF as we step into the Constellation strategy,” said CIFF’s Acting Executive Director Katherine Penhale.
“Launching the festival with a film that was made right here in Alberta, with Alberta crews, is a perfect fit for our Opening Gala, and having the most high-profile red carpet in CIFF’s history with guests like Peter Dinklage means we get to demonstrate Alberta’s place in the film economy on a star-studded stage.”
An adaptation of award-winning author Joe Lansdale’s 2013 book of the same name, The Thicket has been long in the making, and Dinklage has been attached to the film since 2014.
Director Elliott Lester said that the human heart of The Thicket—a feature of Landsdale’s work in other projects like Bubba Ho-Tep—drew him to the story.
“I love the notion of the quest for family and redefining what family really means. What happens when everyone you care about in a story is an orphan? Where do those people go? How do they find one another?” Lester said.
“This was the most challenging movie I’ve ever made—it was literally the ride of a lifetime, deep into the heart of The Thicket.”
The film was produced for Tubi Films by David Ginsberg (Estuary Films), Caddy Vanasirikul and Brian O’Shea (The Exchange), Shannon Gaulding, Andre L III, Gianni Nunnan. Executive Producers are: Blair Ward and Anders Erden (Orogen Entertainment), Eric Harbut, Giovanna Trischitta, Nat McCormick, Danny Guzman, Robyn Noorwood, and Adriana Lima.
It stars, in addition to Dinklage and Grace, Juliette Lewis, Esme Creed-Miles, Ned Dennehy, Levon Hawke, Arliss Howard, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and Metallica’s James Hetfield.
The opening will be happening at Arts Commons on Sept. 19, at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
“Being able to return to an Opening Gala at the Jack Singer Concert Hall for the first time since 2019 is very exciting – Arts Commons has always championed CIFF’s constellation dreams and was one of the first venues to sign up to be an official Constellation Partner,” said Penhale.
Tickets are available starting on August 28, at www.ciffcalgary.ca.
