A Screening Night for Snow

Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia and Empire Theatres are hosting a free screening of the local feature film Snow on Wednesday, Feb. 27, in Halifax.

Written and directed by Rohan Fernando and produced by Mr. Fernando and Suzanne Lively, Snow follows Sri Lanka native Parvati as she finds herself trying to navigate a new life in Canada after the Asian tsunami in 2004 sweeps away her family. Living in an unfamiliar culture with distant relatives she has never met before, her life seems to disintegrate. She finds one of her strongest anchors in a homeless musician she travels to Cape Breton with to see the ocean once again.

Mr. Fernando found inspiration for the film after returning to Sri Lanka with his uncle who had lost his wife and daughter in the tsumani. Feeling the first-hand sorrow of the loss, he wanted to bring the importance of his experience to audiences.

"When I came back to Canada, I knew I wanted to make a film about the impact of personal loss," he said. "Although it was tragic, there was something beautiful and deeply human about that state. I wanted to create a character that would bring audiences into that space."

Snow was shot in the fall of 2009 at various locations throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality. The local feature made its theatrical debut in February 2012, was the opening night film at Reelworld 2011 and won best music at the 2011 Atlantic Film Festival.

The screening is at 7 p.m. at Empire Theatres Park Lane, 5657 Spring Garden Rd. The filmmakers will be in attendance to answer questions at the end of the screening.

Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia-Empire Theatres screening nights are held three times a year to allow local audiences to see homegrown productions and to provide local filmmakers with a venue to promote their work.