Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On this Freaky Friday, I would like to build on our ITI Minister's statement earlier and highlight yet another of Yellowknife's burgeoning new arts festivals.
On February 16th, the Still Dead Film Festival rose like a zombie from the grave of the infamous past film festival Dead North and brought indie horror film back to life in Yellowknife. 350 excited filmgoers dragged, stumbled, and crawled their way into the sold-out Capitol Theatre to enjoy an evening of laughs and screams with the creativity and talent of Yellowknife's amateur filmmaker scene on display. I was lucky enough to get tickets, along with my colleague from Great Slave, and I really enjoyed the films.
In what is becoming a running trend for these local festival statements, again, I really enjoyed Johnny Vu's entry which disturbingly parodied the perils of trusting ChatGPT for life advice. Along with his co-creator Elliot Pope, they deservedly nabbed the audience choice award. Best film went to Heart Above All by Chris Aitken and Emmanuel Ramos. Best sound to Paired by Jocelyn Shepel, best acting to Paul McKee, best effects to Monsters by Tanya Krueger and Carson Asmundson. And a big shout out goes to Kai Walden who won the best emerging filmmaker award. Congratulations to all film members, filmmakers, crews, and actors on a job well done.
Mr. Speaker, festivals like this are so good for our community. They bring people together and give them a creative outlet when they might otherwise be shut in from the cold and isolated from connection. As one filmmaker I spoke to said to me, making that movie got me through the winter. It also highlights how important movies and gathering as a community at our beloved theatre are to Yellowknife. I have to mention the Capitol Theatre's contribution to making this festival happen and the great support manager Chris Wood has always shown to our local film scene.
I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the brain trust behind bringing this mainstay of Yellowknife's film scene back to life, led by none other than former Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson and his fellow organizers Heather Heinrichs, Qillulaaq Arngna'naaq, and Keelen Simpson. Thank you to them, the filmmakers and everyone involved in our incredible growing northern film scene. You are contributing so much to our community.