Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival is a showcase of films and new media projects held during the summer in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, specifically short films of young people living in the Greater Toronto Area
.
This festival is unique in that it only accepts work by artists residing in the Greater Toronto Area. This means less competition for screening space by local artists. Films screened include those made by current students and graduates of notable film programs from Ryerson University
, Humber College
and York University
. All films are under 20 minutes in length and made by those between the ages of 18-26.
The festival attempts to provide opportunities of showcase and networking amongst young video artists. The festival is now expanding with new program lineups such as the T24 Project, where filmmakers must visually answer a question about the Toronto experience in 5–10 minutes. At the end of the festival, there is an awards gala to celebrate the work of the filmmakers screened.
Industry professionals also take part in the film festival, with Movieola
sponsoring and judging the inaugural year. NOW Magazine
calls it "a festival with an intriguing mandate and a sense of genuine discovery."
where he coordinated screenings of student films. This festival started off as his final project for the Event Management
postgraduate program at Centennial College and eventually evolved into a forum that showcases cinematic work by local young filmmakers and video artists. Positive feedback from festival goers and industry partners led to the making of a second festival with expanded program initiatives, including a 24-hour film challenge that tasks filmmakers in creating a short film about the Toronto experience. Films are screened at Innis Town Hall
.
The festival screens a wide range of films, with themes and topics that reflect the diversity of Toronto such as media and communication, immigration, urban living, cultural diaspora and LGBTQ. They also showcase dramatic short films, documentaries and experimental works. Some previous works include adaptions of high profile literary works such as The Highwayman
and An Encounter
. The festival also showcases work completed during the T24 Project, a challenge where filmmakers make shorts that answer questions on the Toronto experience.
Previous members of the jury determining the films include Matt Guerin, writer and producer of The Golden Pin, winner of the Best Canadian Short Film at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival
; Nicole Mendes, Programming Coordination at Movieola; Peter Sander, director of Academy Award nominated film, The Selfish Giant
and Norman Wilner, film critic at NOW Magazine.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, specifically short films of young people living in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
.
This festival is unique in that it only accepts work by artists residing in the Greater Toronto Area. This means less competition for screening space by local artists. Films screened include those made by current students and graduates of notable film programs from Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
, Humber College
Humber College
Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning is a polytechnic college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Humber offers more than 150 programs including: bachelor’s degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs, across 40 fields of study. Humber serves...
and York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. All films are under 20 minutes in length and made by those between the ages of 18-26.
The festival attempts to provide opportunities of showcase and networking amongst young video artists. The festival is now expanding with new program lineups such as the T24 Project, where filmmakers must visually answer a question about the Toronto experience in 5–10 minutes. At the end of the festival, there is an awards gala to celebrate the work of the filmmakers screened.
Industry professionals also take part in the film festival, with Movieola
Movieola
Movieola is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Channel Zero Inc....
sponsoring and judging the inaugural year. NOW Magazine
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
calls it "a festival with an intriguing mandate and a sense of genuine discovery."
History
The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival was founded in 2009 by Henry Wong, a graduate of the University of Toronto ScarboroughUniversity of Toronto Scarborough
The University of Toronto Scarborough is a satellite campus of the University of Toronto. Based in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upon suburban parkland in the residential neighbourhood of Highland Creek...
where he coordinated screenings of student films. This festival started off as his final project for the Event Management
Event management
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences.Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the...
postgraduate program at Centennial College and eventually evolved into a forum that showcases cinematic work by local young filmmakers and video artists. Positive feedback from festival goers and industry partners led to the making of a second festival with expanded program initiatives, including a 24-hour film challenge that tasks filmmakers in creating a short film about the Toronto experience. Films are screened at Innis Town Hall
Innis College
Innis College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Toronto. It is one of the University of Toronto's smallest colleges in terms of size and the second smallest college in terms of population with approximately 1870 registered students...
.
The festival screens a wide range of films, with themes and topics that reflect the diversity of Toronto such as media and communication, immigration, urban living, cultural diaspora and LGBTQ. They also showcase dramatic short films, documentaries and experimental works. Some previous works include adaptions of high profile literary works such as The Highwayman
The Highwayman (poem)
"The Highwayman" is a narrative poem written by Alfred Noyes, first published in the August 1906 issue of Blackwood's Magazine. The following year it was included in Noyes' collection, Forty Singing Seamen and Other Poems, becoming an immediate success....
and An Encounter
An Encounter
An Encounter is a short story by James Joyce. It is second in a collection of Joyce's short stories called Dubliners.-The story:The story involves a boy–the narrator–and his friend Mahony taking a day off from school and going to the shore, to seek adventure in their otherwise-dull lives...
. The festival also showcases work completed during the T24 Project, a challenge where filmmakers make shorts that answer questions on the Toronto experience.
Previous members of the jury determining the films include Matt Guerin, writer and producer of The Golden Pin, winner of the Best Canadian Short Film at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival
Inside Out Film and Video Festival
The Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario, devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film and video works...
; Nicole Mendes, Programming Coordination at Movieola; Peter Sander, director of Academy Award nominated film, The Selfish Giant
The Selfish Giant (film)
The Selfish Giant is an animated short film adaptation of the short story by Oscar Wilde. The story has symbolic religious themes and may be considered a work of allegory in Christian literature. The film was produced in 1971 by the Canadian-based Potterton Productions and by Pyramid Films. It...
and Norman Wilner, film critic at NOW Magazine.