By Dafne Romero--HGFF'S Artistic Director I'd like to share information about some of the movies you're about to see March 7, 8 and 9 at HGFF 2014.Opening the festival with "15 reasons to live", both humorous and heartbreaking, Zweig's compassion for his subjects and their stories expressed through his conversational, candid interview style, ties these vignettes together in a visual essay that strikes deeper chords about finding meaning in our existence. Zweig offers 15 ordinary people with 15 extraordinary stories. This movie is an adaptation of Ray Robertson's non-fiction book. It opens our festival along with two shorts: one produced by local and very brilliant animators: Shantal and Reina Bateham entitled "Doctor Who; Quest for the TARDIS" and the other one from Spain "My Dad is a Film Director" a short comedy about being a film director's child. These show Friday the 7th, 6:45 pm at the community hall in Charlotte.Another must see movie is "The Illusionist", an adaptation by Sylvain Chomet from a story written in the 1950s by *Jacques Tati's as a love letter from a father to daughter, never produced until 2013 when Silvain Chomet brings it to life on 2D animation film. The story is based in Prague and Paris but Chomet decided to bring it to a remote village in Scotland. You will be able to recognize soundtracks, background music and images that defines Tati's uniqueness as well as the inevitable crafted picture and exquisite animated touch by Chomet. Shown Sunday March 9 at 2:30 p.m. at the community hall in Queen Charlotte.(*For those who aren't familiar with Jacques Tati. He was born French with Russian, Dutch and Italian ancestry. He was a writer, actor and a movie director.) On Sunday March 9, Andrew Naysmith presents his documentary "Tide Line", an inspiring journey where he, his brother and a friend take three years off from life and embark on a sailing trip around the world, bringing awareness about debris. We can connect with the director, and maybe help him pick some debris from our shores! The film will be shown at 10 am on Sunday March 9 at the community hall along with a short entitled So "Kat'ta". This collaboration between dancer Rachel Harris and artist Tsuneko Kokubo explores the beauty of nature in an exquisite dance performance. Filmed in the BC interior, it's a celebration of the earth and a reflection on the fragility of water and the natural environment.We reserved very special films for our beloved Tlelians. On Saturday March 8, we will have the presence of the director and producer of the documentary "Shekina", a story about the intimate lives of Hasidic women that portrays Orthodox Judaism. This film will celebrate the International Women's Day demonstrating the reality of Hasidic women living in Quebec. Both producer and director are coming. The movie will be showing in conjunction with "Welcome Yankee", a short about the hopes of an illegal immigrant couple trying to get to Montreal to save their child. These movies are scheduled at 11:15 am on Saturday at the Haida House in Tlell. As well as "Deconstructing Super" a film about food, the most prestigious chef in Vancouver and questions about food, at 3:45! Closing our Tlell venue with a feature length comedy, Cristal Magical Fairy Cactus from Chile, a psychedelic journey of a young group seeking for the sacred moment. Crystal Fairy received the Directing Award at the 2013 Sundance festival. On Saturday March 8 at the Performance House in Skidegate, we will showcase a feature film about Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky at 6:30 pm follow by "BajarÃ". The title means Barcelona in Gypsy. It's extraordinary old film footage starring the great flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya and the strongest character is Juan, a young boy, who demonstrates the power of uninhibited enthusiasm for his ancestors' culture.For the kids, we have animation movies at the Heritage Centre on Saturday March 8 from 10 am to 12:45 p.m. and for teenagers, we have a special performance by Kinnie Starr, a singer-songwriter from Calgary. Her music, (blend of hip hop and alternative rock) will be closing our venue at the Heritage Centre on Saturday March 8, 9:00 pm. We close the festival at the comunity hall in Charlotte on March 9 with Oil Sands Karaoke, a film by Charles Wilkinson, who will be presenting the film followed by a karaoke contest!