Ken Loach’s comedy [pictured] is one of five gala screenings at this year’s edition.

Winner of this year’s Jury prize at Cannes, The Angels’ Share has been announced as the opening film of the 32nd Atlantic Film Festival, which runs Sept 13-20 in Halifax, Canada.

Ken Loach’s comedy is one of five gala screenings at this year’s edition, including Shandi Mitchell’s debut feature The Disappeared and Nikolaj Arcel’s historical romance A Royal Affair, which closes the festival on Sept 20.

Leos Carax’s Holy Motors, Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral and Susanne Bier’s All You Need Is Love are among the eight films picked for this year’s Rogers special presentations.

Festival director Lia Rinaldo commented: “There are several emerging filmmakers at this year’s festival with a staggering 25 first time features in our programme, including five dramas from Halifax filmmakers alone. It’s a year of discovery and these are the people to watch. They are hitting hard out of the gate and it’s a great sign of what’s to come as we see this next crop of talented filmmakers hit the global scene.”

In addition to the films screening at the festival, the Atlantic Film Festival also hosts conferences for the film and music industries: Music & Image, a four-day conference for international music buyers in the film, TV, marketing and new media industries, and international co-production market Strategic Partners, which celebrates its 15 year anniversary this year.

For the full lineup, visit the festival’s website.

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