Dear fellow filmmakers,
The small non-profit youth serving, youth led organization that I work for, TakingITGlobal and its affiliated Creating Local Connections Canada project are holding their first ever film festival in Ottawa, Ontario on June 7th and 8th and there is still room for submissions of both feature films and shorts.
While there are no cash prizes, there are viewer’s choice and winners from each category will receive a certificate of recognition. This can be used as an accomplishment for a budding filmmaker’s portfolio. The film will also offer young filmmakers exposure to the Canadian film industry. The four categories are:
Aboriginal Rights (also known as indigenous rights, native American rights)
Urban Poverty
HIV/AIDS
Creativity (pretty well anything goes)
Both short films and feature length films are welcome, in colour or black and white, fiction or nonfiction, real life or animated.
The special thing about this film festival is the way the screenings are set up. Each category of films features a screening and then a Take Action! Workshop for the youth in attendance that helps to link youth with organizations working on each of the four issues. For example the Aboriginal Rights block would feature a set of screenings that deal with the issue of aboriginal rights and this would be followed by a Take Action! Workshop co-facilitated by myself and a prominent young aboriginal rights activist and would help young people understand what the issue means to their community, how they can take action like writing letters to their MP or MPP and linking them with organizations like the Aboriginal Healing Foundation which look for peaceful ways to reconcile Aboriginal Canadians with their troubled national past. The Creativity Take Action! is going to be lead by two prominent local youth filmmakers and will help to teach interested youth the process of making their own short film from Conception through Editing.
An entry in this film festival is a great way to encourage the development of youth and to promote your film.
I really hope that you consider sending a submission.
The only rules for submissions are no graphic nudity or violence as people under 18 will be in attendance and if there is a flood of submissions, preference will be given to filmmakers under the age of 30.
Submissions can be mailed in either VHS, mini DV or DVD to
TakingITGlobal Global Gallery Film Festival
c/o Nicole Allison
2-308 Flora Street
Ottawa, ON
K1R 5S3
Please do not send originals as they may not be returned.
For more information feel free to contact me by email: Ottawa@clc.takingitglobal.org or by phone (613)680-8219 after 5:30pm Eastern Time, 2:30 Pacific
Sincerely,
Nicole Allison