Fall 2023 Series
The Alberni Valley Museum is pleased to announce the Fall 2023 Series of Film Fest. The new season kicks off with “What’s Love Got To Do With It”” on Sunday, September 24, 2023.
Enjoy the recliner seats but remember seating is limited and we encourage you to get your series passes and tickets early.
Tickets and Series Passes are available in advance at the Museum Shop:
Single tickets are $15.00
Passes are $42.00 each.
Single tickets may be sold at the door subject to availability. No exchanges or refunds.
Film Fest Port Alberni film series screens at the Landmark Cinemas Paramount Theatre on select Sundays at 5:00pm.
Series:

What’s Love Got To Do With It
Sunday, September 24
5:00pm
Sliding between London and Lahore, love and friendship, tradition and iconoclasm, What’s Love Got To Do With It? is an effervescent romantic comedy. The film features an ensemble that in-cludes Lily James, Shazad Latif and Emma Thompson. Zoe (James) is a filmmaker and Kazim (Latif) is a doctor. They grew up next door to each other, though their worlds couldn’t be far-ther apart. While Zoe was raised by her English divorcé mother, Cath (Thompson), to be inde-pendent and inquisitive, Kaz’s Pakistan-born par-ents were happy to participate in secular British society while ensuring their kids conduct them-selves according to the family’s Muslim faith. Having already witnessed his parents’ anguish when his sister married a white Briton, Kaz has opted to follow his parents’ example and seek an arranged marriage. Kaz’s decision perplexes Zoe and provides her with a brilliant premise for her next documentary. She sets out, camera in hand, to follow her old friend on every step of his jour-ney toward family-vetted coupledom, trying to comprehend the enduring allure of arranged mar-riage while re-examining her own pattern of dis-astrous liaisons. Striking a rare balance between respect for custom and belief in the power of ro-mance, The film takes its title’s query to heart, posing tough questions to true believers in both camps while taking a zigzag voyage toward that magic moment where autonomy and matrimony intersect.
Country: United Kingdom
Running Time: 108 minutes |

Past Lives
Sunday, October 22
5:00pm
Nora and Hae Sung, fatefully reunite in New York City after being wrested apart 20 years ago, in this decades-spanning romance from writer-director Celine Song. The story begins in South Korea, where 12-year-old Nora is preparing to emigrate with her family to Canada. But she is leaving someone dear behind: Hae Sung, her clos-est friend. Twelve years later, Nora (Greta Lee) has relocated from Toronto to New York to pur-sue her dreams of being a playwright. Eventually, with the help of the internet, Nora finds Hae Sung and rekindles their friendship over Skype. But with 6,000 miles persistently separating them, they lose their connection again, as they once did as children. More time passes, and the two friends now in their 30s reunite in person in New York. By this time, Nora is married to a writer named Arthur (John Magaro) and Hae Sung is newly out of a long-term relationship. Nora shows Hae Sung the city as they elegantly dance around their past and the fated nature of their relationship. The ties between two people over the course of their lives is expressed beautifully and succinctly in a single Korean word: in-yeon. Past Lives is a delicately layered triptych that confronts destiny, love, and the choices that shape a life. Song’s graceful ro-mance is about the acceptance of loss that be-comes a defining part of adulthood.
Country: USA
Running Time: 106 minutes
|

The Miracle Club
Sunday, November 19
5:00pm
Ballygar, Ireland, 1967. A hard-knocks commu-nity in outer Dublin marches to its own beat, rooted in traditions of loyalty, faith and togeth-erness. There's just one tantalising dream for the women of Ballygar to taste freedom and escape the gauntlet of domestic life: to win a pilgrim-age to the sacred French town of Lourdes. And with a little benevolent interference from their cheeky and rebellious priest, close friends Lily, Eileen, Dolly and Sheila are the 'lucky' few to win this ticket of a lifetime at their riotous local raffle night.
The Miracle Club follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O'Casey) of Ballygar, outside Dublin, who win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws mil-lions of visitors each year. Just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her mother's funeral. The women set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie, a skeptical traveler, joining in place of her mother. Along the way, old wounds are reopened, forcing the women to confront their pasts even as they travel in search of a miracle.
Country: United Kingdom, Ireland
Running Time: 96 minutes |
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For Information Contact the Alberni Valley Museum 250-720-2863.
Museum Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Thursdays to 8pm
Film Fest Port Alberni is a fundraising initiative of the Alberni Valley Museum.
The Films are distributed through The Film Circuit a Division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
It is our intent to provide our community with quality films that would not otherwise be available to the local theatre.
Each series of three to four films will feature a Canadian and a Foreign production.
Films are shown on select Sundays at 5pm at Landmark Cinemas Paramount on Argyle Street.
Funds raised go to support museum education and out reach programs.