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The Reel Shorts Film Festival gives Peace Country filmmakers until February 21 to submit their short films for the upcoming festival May 6-13 in Grande Prairie.
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Films must be between two and 31 minutes in length and have a completion date no earlier than January 1, 2017. They also must not be already on YouTube or publicly available online.
“Over 5,000 applications from 116 countries were received by the usual submission deadline, but February 21 is an extended deadline for films made in the Peace Region and for those made all over the world by filmmakers. who currently reside or have resided in the Peace Region, â€said Terry Scerbak, director and programmer of Reel Shorts, in a statement.
Since 2007, the festival has selected more than 80 films to screen each year. A third of them are premieres, while about the same number are laureates.
Reel Shorts is also a qualifying festival for the Canadian Screen Awards and has the largest school program in the Prairie Provinces with over 2,000 students from grades 1 to 12 participating in the festival last year.
Between 2013 and 2018, the festival screened 89 Peace Region films.
“The Peace Region film community has grown considerably since the festival began in 2007,†said Scerbak. “A catalyst for this growth was Shoot for Reel, a two-week internship program that trained a dozen interns during the production of ‘The Horizon Project’ in the summer of 2012.â€
“It was directed by Scott Belyea, a Vancouver filmmaker who grew up in Grande Prairie,” she added. “Shoot for Reel led directly to the formation of PRIMAA (Peace Region Independent Media Arts Society) in 2013 and the start of a thriving film community in the region. “
Filmmakers who screen their films at the festival receive royalties. Their films are also eligible for jury prizes and audience choice.
More information on the submission process is available at reelshorts.ca.
