Short Film Contest offers $5000 in Cash Prizes

By Amos Johnson

Young Canadian filmmakers will be showcasing their talents for a short film contest hosted by the Film Camp for Kids & Youth.

The contest is for National Youth Arts Week from May 1-7 with a theme celebrating Canada and Ontario’s culture, history, environment or future. Contest participants must be between the ages of 11 and 25 and live in Essex, Kent or Lambton counties.

The money for the cash prize is provided by the provincial government. Short films submitted must be from one to five minutes long.

Amanda Gellman, board member of the Film Camp for Kids & Youth, explained how the contest will work.

“We are hoping for 50 applicants and then we will run an open contest where the films are chosen by the judges as well as a public vote. The films are judged by age group, so a person who’s eleven isn’t going to be competing with a person who’s 25,” said Gellman.

The Film Camp for Kids & Youth educates young people about filmmaking. Every week, mini-production teams with five kids per instructor are created and they learn and perform screenwriting, editing and filming.

“They have less than 20 hours to make a film with a team they have never met before,” said Gellman.

John Groundwater is the business manager of Film Camp for Kids & Youth and is impressed with the results of the camp.

“The result of the films is just incredible to see…some of the youngest ones are nine to 12 years old and it is shocking to see the results. They finally show their film at the end of the week on Friday. We have a screening and the parents come in and it is really rewarding for them,” Groundwater said.

According to a study from ACTRA Toronto, Canada’s film and television industry supported 262,700 full time jobs in 2013.