jamarchCaribbeanTales has announced a dynamic new element to its Toronto program that will give teams of young people forty-eight hours to script, shoot, edit and submit a 5-minute film, to be screened during the festival. The goal is to engage youth and community through creativity, while inspiring them to “show and tell” innovative personal stories through film.
“We want to encourage youth within our community, especially those that may not normally have access to resources to participate in a competition such as this, to develop skills in areas like production, directing and writing, and to express themselves by telling stories drawn from their experiences. I think this segment of the Showcase will grow to be one of our most important segments.” said Michael Miller, Film Challenge Coordinator.
The Challenge will start with a two-part storytelling and skills workshop, led by Canadian actor Michael Miller and filmmaker Rodney Smith. Teams will receive their “secret instructions” on September 7th, and deliver their completed films no later than 48 hrs later.
Films completed by the Challenge deadline will be screened at the CaribbeanTales Film Showcase that takes place from Sept 10 – 15th at Harbourfront Centre, and an Audience Award will go to the winner at the festival’s closing ceremony on September 15th.
Challenge Guidelines:
– Resources (cast, crew, equipment & locations) can be sourced before the Challenge, but all writing and production must take place during the 48hrs of the competition.
– Teams must sign up for the Challenge, and receive their registration packets at the CaribbeanTales Opening Gala that takes place at Harbourfront Centre on Wednesday, Sept 5, 2012.
– Participants will take part in an intensive Storytelling and Skills workshop on September 6th, to help them with script developement and workflow management during the demanding Challenge.
– Secret instructions will be sent out to all teams by email on Friday, Sept 7th 2012 at 7pm. These will include for example a randomly selected prop, and one line of dialogue.
– Completed films must be delivered on DVD format to the Harbourfront Centre, by Sunday, Sept 9th 2012 at 7pm.
– Film Length: 1-5 minutes (maximum)
– Applicants can apply as teams or as individuals, and then be placed in existing teams.
– CaribbeanTales invites applications from aspiring and experienced actors, camera operators, editors, musicians, directors, producers, and other crew, with an emphasis on youth (16-24) from Toronto’s priority areas.
– Each team will have at least half of their membership comprised of youth 24 and under. However we will accept applications from all ages including seniors.
Media Writer
