Guy Lavallee, the mind behind NorthwestFEARFest, might just be the busiest man in Edmonton film festivals.
The horror- and genre-film festival, which began its third edition on Oct. 16 at Metro Cinema, is the youngest of Lavallee's three festivals. He manages it alongside Rainbow Visions Film Festival, a queer cinematic affair established in 2015, and NorthwestFest, a long-running documentary showcase that will be known as the Northwest Film Festival when it returns in 2025.
On top of all that, Lavallee also programs two series for the Calgary International Film Festival and juggles a full-time job making local commercials for a national broadcaster. It's not an easy feat.
"To my wife, I probably quit each film festival two to three times a year — and then the next day, I'm fine," he told Taproot. "There are days that (I ask) 'Why? What am I doing?' But then there are days that it's so rewarding."
NorthwestFEARFest, a festival for movie buffs who enjoy their screens covered in creepies and crawlies, includes anniversary screenings of the slasher blueprint A Nightmare on Elm Street and the cult phenomenon Phantom of the Paradise, plus what Lavallee predicts to be an indie breakout hit: Dead Mail. That film premiered at SXSW this spring, just like last year's NorthwestFEARFest hit Late Night with the Devil, which went on to earn more than triple its US$3-million budget.
Those examples show growing breadth, Lavallee said.
"We're really reaching out to a much broader spectrum of Edmontonians now than if we were just doing a genre festival or a documentary festival or a queer film festival," he said. "It widens the scope of who we're programming films for, and to me, that's the purpose."
This year's lineup has a connection to Lavallee's childhood. He grew up with a dad who spent one day a week working at a cinema for "walking around money" in Winnipeg. That city has an inscrutable obsession with Phantom of the Paradise, directed by Brian De Palma of Carrie and Scarface fame. The film, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary as it closes the festival on Oct. 22, is one of the first movies Lavallee ever saw in a theatre.
"It was just the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, and I absolutely loved it and became obsessed with movies," he said. "Movies and music were always my two big things. That's all I was really interested in."
Movie lover Guy Lavallee (front row, second from the left) runs three Edmonton film festivals, including NorthwestFest, which screened the documentary Who You Gonna Call? with star and songwriter Ray Parker Jr. and the Alberta Ghostbusters in 2022. NorthwestFEARFest 2024 is at Metro Cinema until Oct. 22. (Supplied)
After NorthwestFEARFest, the Northwest Film Festival and Rainbow Visions return in May. Lavallee teased that a mild re-brand is not all that's new for those festivals.
"This is what I'm really excited about: We're introducing the addition of a few narrative features into the mix now with Northwest Film Fest, and that has been a long time coming," he said, while refusing to divulge more. "There's a few fun changes coming to Northwest Film Fest and Rainbow Visions next year, and we hope everyone comes and participates."
What does it take to become the hardest-working man in Edmonton film fests? Lavallee credits grit — and little luck.
"It's really trial by fire and a lot of trial and error," he said. "If you're gonna do it, then just do it. You know what I mean? Don't half-ass it."
Tickets and passes for NorthwestFEARFest are available now. The full lineup includes both feature films and shorts. The sole local entry is Aidan Murphy's short film called Laundry Day, which runs ahead of heavy metal horror movie Heavy Trip, followed by its sequel, Heavier Trip.