BREAKING MOVIE/TV NEWS

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Canadian Film Centre: "Reel Challenge" Winners


The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) has announced the winners of The REEL Challenge, a contest for aspiring filmmakers to produce "...a short compelling film about the importance of creators' rights and copyright protection for their work, from a creator's perspective..."

The first prize winner was Denis Seguin, of Toronto , Ontario , for his short film titled, “IT’S MY RIGHT.” Seguin ’s film featured Canadian artists and filmmakers, talking about their rights.

“I’m delighted to have had my film recognized by the Reel Challenge jury,” said Seguin . “Copyright is not an abstract notion but a matter of survival for an artist. This is the message I wanted to convey through the faces and voices of the creators who appear in the film.”

Seguin received CDN$10,000 for taking first prize in the contest.

Second and third prizes, in the amount of CDN$2,500, were awarded to Nick Kalish, of Vancouver, B.C., for his short "RESPECT THE C” and Spencer Maybee, of Toronto, Ontario for his short titled, “RESPECT THE ORIGINAL.”

“We are thrilled to have had such an overwhelming response to The REEL Challenge contest,” said Slawko Klymkiw, Executive Director of the CFC. “It is a testament to the strong support in the creative communities for protecting content and creators’ rights.”

The contest ran from December 7, 2009 to April 26, 2010. All categories and genres of short films were accepted, including drama, comedy, animation, horror, sci-fi, documentary, experimental and music videos. More than 100 entries were received.

The jury included: Vincenzo Natali, director ("Splice"), Stephen Stohn, President of Epitome Pictures Inc. , Eileen Arandiga, Festival Director of the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival, Wendy Noss, Executive Director of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association and Bob Pisano, President, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Reel Challenge Contest is an initiative of the Canadian Film Centre, supported by the Copyright Collective of Canada.

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