In April 2013, you’ll perhaps recall, Regina hosted its first International Puppet Underground Film Festival. It featured short films by a mix of local, national and international artists who used different puppet techniques to create some really interesting cinema.
From Thursday May 28 to Sunday May 31, the second IPUFF is being held. It’s IPUFF+ actually, since the festival has expanded somewhat to include live puppet performance and workshops. Two venues are involved, Central Library and Artesian on 13th, and you can find out all the details (including prices for ticketed events) on the IPUFF+ website.
The festival kicks off Thursday with a free screening of Heather Henson’s Hand Made Puppet Dreams Volume 6 at Central Library at 7 p.m. Heather Henson, of course, is Jim Henson’s daughter, and she’s been a big supporter of puppetry as an art form since her father passed away.
On Friday, there’s a live performance at Artesian at 7 p.m. followed by a film screening at 8:30 p.m. Then on Saturday there’s a free workshop called Paper & Tape at Central Library from 1:30-3:30 p.m. which will cover some of the fundamentals of puppetry such as character creation, storytelling and performing live and on film. It’s open to people 12 and up, and you’re asked to bring several items of spare clothing to make a puppet. You can preregister through the RPL website.
Saturday evening there’s three live performances at Artesian at 7, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Then on Sunday there’s a mix of child-friendly performances, workshops and screenings at Artesian starting at 11:30 a.m. and running until around 5 p.m. To close, here’s a trailer that was produced for the first IPUFF