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One week, 30 movies: Extreme fans ready for Cinéfest

When Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival rolls around each year, Juanita and John Stolte email their kids and tell them they're unavailable for the next week.
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Juanita and John Stolte plan to take in about 25 films at Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.
When Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival rolls around each year, Juanita and John Stolte email their kids and tell them they're unavailable for the next week.

The couple are among a select group of Cinéfest die-hards that make Silver City Cinemas their home during the festival, and take in dozens of films. This year the Stoltes plan to see about 25 films.

“I think it's a wonderful experience — not only the films, but the atmosphere, the people and the socials every evening,” John said, speaking to Northern Life at the festival's opening gala Sept. 13.

While spending the week at Cinéfest is fun, it can have some unfortunate side-effects, said Barb Parker, another extreme Cinéfest fan, who attends the film festival with a group of friends.

After the festival “we just take our eyes out and put them on ice for a little bit because you've been in a theatre for a whole entire week, and you feel like a mole,” jokes Parker, who plans to see more than 20 movies this week.

A healthy diet also tends to go out the window.

“There's a lot of popcorn that goes down and a lot of fast food,” she said.

Parker said she loves getting to meet celebrities at Cinéfest, something she said probably wouldn't be as feasible at the Toronto International Film Festival. Over the years, she's met Paul Gross, Jason Priestly and Elwy Yost.

This year, she said she's looking forward to the Danish film “The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared,” based on the 2009 book of the same name.

“Those are the kind of films I like to see, because you're never going to see them in a regular theatre, ever,” Parker said.

Merv McLaughlin, who also attends the festival with a group of friends, said he watched 31 films at Cinéfest last year.

“We enjoy the movies, but by the end of 31 movies, they're all kind of running into each other,” he said. “I've almost got to look at the book to sort them out in my mind, because I've seen so many.”

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Heidi Ulrichsen

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