There was a buzz last night at the Paramount Theater.

Part of it was due to people scurrying inside to escape the chill from the unseasonably frigid temperatures. But the real reason that the Paramount was hopping last night was from the excited moviegoers who gathered to celebrate the kick-off of SIFF. This year marked the return to in-person screenings.

You didn’t have to stroll through the lobby long before hearing movie friends excitedly reunite after SIFF went virtual for a couple of years (for obvious reasons).

There was also excitement building for “Navalny.”  This year, SIFF rolled out a documentary as its gala presentation. But not just any doc. “Nalvany” had all the real-life twist and turns of a high-stakes thriller normally penned by fiction writers like le Carré or Clancy.

Thrills

Alexi Nalvany, you may recall, was a former Russian presidential candidate. Riding a wave of mounting popularity, he was poisoned with a KGB-era nerve agent. If the source seemed somewhat obvious, the task to prove it would seem insurmountable.

Director Daniel Roher was there to capture the sleuthing first-hand. Through interviews with Nalvany, his wife, and his closest advisors, we see the pieces of the puzzle start to fall in place.

The doc kicks into high gear when an unassuming data journalist, Christo Grozev, follows the flow of information and crunches it all into his computer that spits out three potential suspects. As Nalvany puts it, it wasn’t the CIA, it wasn’t MI6, it was some computer nerd that cracked the code.

As you might expect, there is plenty of intrigue, misdirection and hints of double agents. But keep in mind, this is real life with real consequences. This is not a pulp novel that you put on a shelf after the final page is turned. Today, after surviving a near-death poisoning, identifying the people involved by providing damning evidence, Navalny was arrested and sent to prison – where he remains today.

Chills

After Roher’s post-screening Q&A, the doors to the Paramount opened up for the after-party that spilled onto the streets. Even the winter coat weather could not chill the enthusiasm of the crowd discussing the fest’s first film, as they stood in line to get their nosh from the food trucks assembled.

Music kept people moving outside, as well as inside the Paramount. With a DJ spinning, people bounded the stage to dance into the night with like-minded moviegoers.

If you missed the the opening night film and festivities, “Navalny” is slated to stream at a later date on HBO Max.

And, of course, there are still more than 200 films to see over the next 10-days at various venues and online. So if you haven’t already, now’s the time to pick your films and pick your passes.