It seems the 9th edition of the annual Fairy Tales Film Festival is a year of change. Helmed by new Festival director Matt Salton, this year’s week long event moves from the Downtown core to The Plaza Theatre in Kensington.  Its 40 films feature one of the most diverse line ups in Festival history.

"There are more short films in the festival this year then there have been in a long time, because there were better short films and documentaries this year than features. The selection committee has gotten together every few weeks to sit around for six or eight hours and watch movies that have been sent to us, that we have seen, or that we heard about playing at other festivals around the world," Salton said, while sipping coffee at a shop in Kensington a few blocks from The Plaza. "We do get a lot of movies that are cute, brainless guys with nothing interesting about them, that are looking for love. You finish the film and go ‘that was really about nothing but I liked looking at cute boys.’ A lot of directors program based on that. This year I thought let’s try and reverse that, and have some substance and then add the eye candy. We wanted to offer something different."

This year also has a very international flavor with films from around the world, as well as the La Belle Province package made up of entirely French-Canadian short films.

"We are celebrating our communities diversity this year with more Trans-identified films, films focusing on Bisexuals, and films with Gays and Lesbians of color. We are showing films from Taiwan, The Philippines, Germany, France and Argentina. We are also focusing on offering more films featuring stronger women. I think we definitely succeeded in our opening gala film Itty Bitty Titty Committee and our closing Gala film The Gymnast."

This is Salton’s first year with the Fairy Tales festival, however he was heavily involved previously in the Reel Out Festival in Ontario. He takes over the reigns from Brenda Lieberman, who coordinated the festival from 2000 – 2006.

"Brenda did an excellent job and has directed Fairytales very ably. This is the first time that Fairy Tales has been helmed by someone who has fit under the GLBT umbrella so it is nice to have a queer person programming the festival instead of one of our queer allies."

The change of venue also means leaving the primarily gay beltline; something that Salton is confident will also be an exciting change. Many local community groups such as Theatre Calgary, Axis Contemporary Art, Quab Gallery and Inside Out Youth Group are involved in presenting events.

"We couldn’t reach the Uptown to book the festival. I live in Kensington and walk by there every day, so I spoke to the manager about booking it and there we were. I moved here from Kingston, Ontario and was heavily involved in the Reel Out Festival there. It was very much a community-involved project with a small town feel that was tremendously successful. Having this year’s film festival in Kensington, which also has a very small town feel, and getting local organizations involved in the festival gives it that personal touch. It is an opportunity for people who have never been to the festival to come out and check it out."

The final new addition to this year’s festival is the inclusion of filmmakers from across the country, who will attend screenings as well as participate in Fresh and Fearless panel, hosted by Michelle Wong. Thanks in part to a grant from the Canadian Council for the arts, artists such as bad-boy director Bruce LaBruce, video artist Pat Aylesworth, the multi talented Lukas Blakk, artist and interdisciplinary scholar Roewan Crowe, Native writer and director Adam Garnet Jones, Laura Ralph and award-winning short film director Jamie Travis.

As for the movies themselves, GayCalgary and Edmonton magazine was afforded a sneak preview of a few of them, including opening night Gala film Itty Bitty Titty Committee and closing night gala documentary Show Business. Both films have their strengths and will appeal to different audiences. The first film focuses greatly on female empowerment and strength amongst a small group of women who want to change the world. The second takes a look at the process from rehearsals to the Tony Awards for four Broadway shows – Wicked, Avenue Q, Boy George’s Taboo, and Caroline, or Change. For any fan of Broadway this show is a must see!

Also expected to grab some attention is the late night Guilty Pleasures Gay Grindhouse Double-Feature on May 26th at 11:00pm, which Salton is very excited about.

"We will be showing the gay zombie movie The Creatures from the Pink Lagoon as well as In The Blood about a guy coming out of the closet who gets visions of a serial killer when he gets aroused. It is hilarious and pretty campy, they did a great job with the film and the guys are really good looking, but it’s not a serious thriller."

The full listing of films is available with detailed descriptions on Fairy Tales’ website as well as an event listing here in GayCalgary and Edmonton magazine. There are a lot of great films to see, so bargain hunters will want to take advantage of one of two festival packages.

"We are offering the Fabulous Five pack, which is a passport to any five films with the exclusion of the two opening gala films, for $45," Salton explained. "We will also have the package that offers all 15 festival packs for $99, which if you want to go to everything gives you six programs for free."

For nine years Fairy Tales has strived to awe, provoke thought and discussion, and most importantly entertain us. Salton’s enthusiasm is infectious and the line up this year strives  once again to send its patrons out of the theatre doors talking about another successful year of Fairy Tales.