CAFF, the County Adaptation Film Festival, brings into view the many arts of film.

“When we think of adaptation, we generally think of books or short stories or graphic novels made into films. But this festival is interested in every kind of adaptation — how food, art, music, and landscape, as well as narrative, make their way into film, and transform it,” notes The Regent’s artistic director and festival co-founder Alexandra Seay.

The Gala Screening on May 4 of DK and Hugh Welchman’s The Peasants (2023) offers a preview of the programming and conversations to come.

A side exhibition of a selection of the oil paintings created for the film, selected in partnership with the event’s title sponsor, Oeno Gallery, invites the audience to consider the art of adaptation.

Director Hugh Welchman will virtually introduce the film, while a post-show discussion with a member of the film’s creative team, its visual effects artist and script supervisor Monika Folkierska-Zukowska, rounds out the evening.

Ms. Folkierska-Zukowska will discuss the process of adapting the film and the many visual influences on its paintings.

“The Peasants exemplifies multiple forms of adaptation, from page to screen, and from live action to oil on canvas. The film presents a jumping-off point for a multi-faceted conversation. I am thrilled to be able to bring the physical paintings to Picton. Consider this a taste of things to come in September,” said Ms. Seay.

CAFF is supported by an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant of $200,000 over two years.

The festival schedule will be announced at the Gala, along with venues and partners. CAFF takes place from September 27-29.

Tickets to the May gala screening of The Peasants are $24 and available at the Regent Theatre box office and online.