THE organisers of Jersey’s annual film festival, 13th Parish, which begins this evening, have said that they were not sure if the event would return this year after its founder, Tony Langlois, passed away suddenly last October.
But they made the decision that the sixth international festival should continue to honour Tony’s legacy – and a record number of Jersey filmmakers have entered their films.
“It’s been an extremely difficult year for the festival and one in which, in fact, we wondered: should we put it on?” festival co-director Úna Langlois said.
Her husband Tony had been “the driving force” behind the festival, which began in 2019, as well as a lecturer in media and communications, ethnomusicologist, filmmaker – and organiser of two film festivals, in Jersey and in Cork.
“That’s on our shoulders now, but we’ve had enormous help this year – the States of Jersey have continued to back the festival and this year, the Jersey Community Foundation has been an huge contributor in allowing us to hire our first staff member,” she said.
The programme includes a special screening of two of Tony’s films, and the inaugural Tony Langlois Prix d’Honneur will decorate the jury’s favourite film.
Festival Director Noémie Alexandre said: “He would have wanted us to continue, and he was a driving force behind the festival.
“So we kept going for him, in memory of him, to keep up his legacy.”
This year’s festival poster was designed by local artist Lisa MacDonald in Tony’s memory.
With a focus on championing Jersey filmmakers, the festival includes two screenings of films from the Island as well as hosting a workshop that sees them create a collaborative short film in the space of a week.
The programme’s highlights also features films from Morocco, France and Slovakia.
The directors of The Extraordinary Miss Flower are due to fly into the island for the occasion, to present a “hybrid” film blending music and narrative.
Two animated films are aimed at grown-up audiences: Memoir of a Snail and Flow.
It is the short films that highlight the festival’s “aesthetic taste”, Mrs Langlois explained, and create “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see films that generally aren’t available on streaming platforms”.
“Short are that very special, elusive thing, you see them now and you will probably never see them again,” Mrs Langlois said.
“It is a filmmaker really condensing their idea down to a very short ten to 15 minutes.”
Ms Alexandre said she hoped audiences would walk away with a curiosity for films in and out of the Island, for other genres, short films, and independent films.
“And the realisation that there’s a lot of potential in the Island in terms of filmmaking,” she added.
The festival opens this evening and continues until Sunday, with screenings taking place at the Jersey Arts Centre. A Wall Is A Screen starts at the centre in Phillips Street and will be followed by a walk across town to see films projected onto buildings.
The full programme is available at 13thparish.org.je and tickets are sold on the Jersey Arts Centre website or at the box office.
