No. of films 100+ | Language International | |
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Location Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada Hosted by Grande Prairie Live Theatre Instances 2016 Reel Shorts Film Festival |
Y f at the reel shorts film festival
About the Festival
The stated goal of the Reel Shorts Film Festival is to celebrate short films and the filmmakers who make them by screening "gems of storytelling brilliance" from around the world, across Canada, and in the Peace Region. A second goal is to help grow a filmmaking community in the Peace Region (northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia) by inspiring, developing and showcasing the region's filmmakers.
Contents
Founder Terry Scerbak started the festival in 2006 as a production of Grande Prairie Live Theatre after seeing the short film program at the Edmonton International Film Festival and deciding to bring some of the films back to Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. It is a spring festival produced by Grande Prairie Live Theatre: the first festival took place in March 2007, the next three festivals were in April, and subsequent festivals have taken place the first week of May.
The festival's program has grown from 38 films screened over 3 days in 2007 to over 100 short films in 18 packages at the 8th festival in 2014.
In 2014, the festival became competitive, presenting an award designed by Grande Prairie sculptor Grant Berg to the following winners:
Since 2010, audiences have determined the winners of the Audience Choice Award:
In the summer of 2012, the festival produced a short film as part of Shoot for Reel, a collaboration between the festival, Grande Prairie Regional College, and Ricebrain Media, a Vancouver film company whose president (Scott Belyea) grew up in Grande Prairie. The Horizon Project, the short film that Belyea directed during the 11 days of Shoot for Reel, premiered at the 7th Reel Shorts Film Festival in 2013.
The school program of screenings, training, and filmmaker class visits is a big component of the film festival. In 2013, the festival produced HB, an 8-minute film directed by Nathan Fast, as part of the Youth Film Mentorship Project. On Sep 29, 2013, it won the Best Overall Youth Short Film Award at the Calgary International Film Festival and a month later won the Young Filmmakers Program Competition Grand Prize at the 2013 Austin Film Festival.