Halifax stars mob Citadel for Atlantic Film Festival gala

From singer Hawksley Workman to Premier Darrell Dexter, the Atlantic Film Festival brought all the glitterati to the Halifax Citadel for its opening gala.

“Score: A Hockey Musical” opened the 30th annual Film Festival with screenings at Park Lane and Oxford Theatre on Thursday.

Standing on the red carpet before the movie, writer and director Michael McGowan said there was no single event that inspired the uniquely Canadian flick.

“I think I was drunk one night,” he joked. “I don’t know, where the ideas come from I never really quite know. I’ve wanted to do a musical for about five years and thought of this ridiculous idea of doing a hockey musical and started writing a story around that.”

Whatever the genesis, Premier Darrell Dexter was eager to get in and see the show.

“Oh, look, I’m from Cole Harbour, which the home of Sidney Crosby, you probably couldn’t find a bigger hockey town anywhere,” he laughed. “I grew up playing all kinds of hockey and I like musicals, so this should be great!”

Nova Scotia sweetheart Allie MacDonald played a starring role in the movie and says it’s been a bewildering experience.

“It’s a little surreal because I’m driving around in a limo seeing all of my old neighborhood places,” she said. “But I’m really happy to be here, and to see my whole family and to have something to show them.”

Hawksley Workman wrote a lot of the music for the movie and ended up starring in it. He says at first he was worried about his rock-and-roll image, but that melted away when he started having fun.

“I highly recommend to anybody, if you’re thinking about choosing cool over the opportunity to have more fun choose the fun,” he said. “Cool is a real drag.”  

People didn’t have to choose between cool and fun at the after party, held inside the fort at Citadel Hill. Party goers were greeted by soldiers in traditional British garb, a bagpiper and then dance, music, bubbly and food.