John Agnew
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 20/98) - The lobby of the Capitol Theatre hasn't looked like this since Leonard what's-his-name went down with the Titanic.

The lineup was down the stairs and out the door for the gala opening of this year's edition of the Far North Film Festival.

It was a sell-out crowd who came to see Peter Lynch's film The Herd, a saga of a man's determination to move 2,500 reindeer from the Bering Sea to the Mackenzie Delta.

Previously screened at well-known (but not as well-loved) film festivals in Toronto and Vancouver, The Herd was an exquisite choice to set the tone for the weekend's viewing.

The ever-capable and disarmingly delightful Charles Laird welcomed an eager audience before introducing former CBC journalist and man-about-the-North Whit Fraser, who, in turn, was scheduled to introduce the film.

In a gesture as charming as it was appropriate, Fraser brought Dennis Allen out of the audience to the microphone. Allen, originally from the Delta and now a Yellowknife resident, had a role in the film.

Allen is a filmmaker in his own right. One of his productions was scheduled to be screened the next day.

Addressing the audience, Allen modestly described his acting career as a matter of timing, "talk about being in the right place at the right time."

From a job driving a snowmachine for the production crew, Allen was eventually offered a speaking role in the film.

When the applause for Allen died down, and he settled back into his seat, the house lights dimmed and the movie started.

The screen filled with a bleak, wintry panorama of Northern hills and against the backdrop of an Arctic sky, the credits rolled.

After the title and the producer came the cast. First across the screen, ahead of notables like Colm Feore, came the name Dennis Allen. The audience burst into another round of applause for the home-grown talent.

Toronto take note, that's how you open a film festival.