The Whistler Film Festival opens with a big Cannes favourite this year.

Carol is acclaimed director Todd Haynes’ adaptation of the early, semi-autobiographical  Patricia Highsmith novel, The Price of Salt. The film takes Haynes back to the ‘50s, the same era that yielded his most popular and successful film, 2002’s Far From Heaven, allowing the filmmaker to revisit themes of sexual repression as lovers Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara—this year’s best actress winner at Cannes—go on the lam in Eisenhower-era America

It’s a Canadian premiere for the highly anticipated movie, one of four that include Blood Cells (UK), Her Composition (US) and The Life and Death of an Unhappily Married Man (US).

Among the nine films getting their world premiere at the 15th edition of the mountain fest, Chasing Banksy is the first non-genre effort from MIA sleazemaster Frank (Basket Case) Henenlotter. The documentary follows young artists who attempt to steal Banksy’s work in New Orleans.

A big hit in the UK, Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut The Legend of Barney Thomson gets its first North American screenings at Whistler. Also from the UK, the festival has scored a Western Canadian premiere of Sunset Song, from the masterful Terence Davies, along with BC premieres for seven movies including the Chet Baker biopic, Born to Be Blue, and Brian D. Johnson’s doc, Al Purdy Was Here.  

Headlining the Late Night program, Gaspar Noe’s controversial 3D art-porno Love drops its pants in B.C. for the first time. Also comin' at ya in three dimensions is Wim Wenders' latest, Every Thing Will Be Fine.

The full line-up of films (by strand)—46 features and 43 shorts in all—is below. The Whistler Film Festival runs from December 2 to 6. For more info, go here. 

American Indies:

A LIGHT BENEATH THEIR FEET (United States) Dir. Valerie Weiss

CHASING BANKSY (United States) Dir. Frank Henenlotter

HER COMPOSITION (United States/Germany) Dir. Stephan Littger

REHEARSAL (Canada/United States/United Kingdom) Dir. Carl Bessai

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN UNHAPPILY MARRIED MAN (United States) Dir. Josh Hope
 


Canadian Vanguard:

FORSAKEN (Canada) Dir. Jon Cassar

HE HATED PIGEONS (Canada) Dir. Ingrid Veninger

HOW TO PLAN AN ORGY IN A SMALL TOWN (Canada) Dir. Jeremy LaLonde

THE DEMONS (LES DÉMONS) (Canada) Dir. Philippe Lesage

THE DIARY OF AN OLD MAN (JOURNAL D'UN VIEIL HOMME, LE) (Canada) Dir. Bernard Émond

THE MIRAGE (Canada) Dir. Ricardo Trogi
THE STEPS (Canada) Dir. Andrew Currie
 


Discoveries:

NATASHA (Canada) Dir. David Bezmozgis

PATTERSON’S WAGER (Canada) Dir. O. Corbin Saleken

RIVER (Canada/Laos) Dir. Jamie M. Dagg

THE COLOSSAL FAILURE OF THE MODERN RELATIONSHIP (Canada) Dir. Sergio Navarretta

THE SABBATICAL (Canada) Dir. Brian Stockton
 


From The Vault:

MY AMERICAN COUSIN (1985) (Canada) Dir. Sandy Wilson
 


Galas:

CAROL (United States) Dir. Todd Haynes

NUMB (Canada) Dir. Jason R. Goode
 


Gen Next:

BASIC HUMAN NEEDS (Canada) Dir. Matthew Yim

FSM (Canada) Dir. Melanie Jones

LOVE IN THE SIXTH (Canada) Dir. Jude Klassen

NESTOR (Canada) Dir. Daniel Robinson

THE BIRDWATCHER (Canada) Dir. Siobhan Devine

THE HOTEL DIEU (Canada) Dir. Adrian Thiessen
 


Late Night:

GASPAR NOE’S LOVE in 3D (France/Belgium) Dir. Gaspar Noe

SUSPENSION (Canada) Dir. Jeffery Lando

THE SUBLET (Canada) Dir. John Ainslie
 


Special Presentation:

BORN TO BE BLUE (Canada/United Kingdom) Dir. Robert Budreau

LEGEND (United Kingdom) Dir. Brian Helgeland

MAGGIE’S PLAN (United States) Dir. Rebecca Miller

THE LADY IN THE VAN (United Kingdom)  Dir. Hytner

THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON (United Kingdom/Canada) Dir. Robert Carlyle

THE MEDDLER (United States) Dir. Lorene Scarfaria

TRUMBO (United States) Dir. Jay Roach
 


World Documentary:

AL PURDY WAS HERE (Canada) Dir. Brian D. Johnson

AMERIKA (Czech Republic) Dir. Jan Foukal

LAST HARVEST (Canada) Dir. Hui Wang

WHEN ELEPHANTS WERE YOUNG (Canada) Dir. Patricia Sims
 


World Now:

ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES (India) Dir. Pan Nalin

BLOOD CELLS (United Kingdom/Italy) Dir. Joseph Bull, Luke Seomore

EVERY THING WILL BE FINE in 3D (Canada/France/Germany/Sweden) Dir. Wim Wenders

FLORIDA (France) Dir. Phillippe Le Guay

THE WAVE (Norway) Dir. Roar Uthaug