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Photo: Terry Scerbak
reel shorts film festival

January 31 submission deadline set for Reel Shorts Film Festival

Jan 21, 2022 | 1:52 PM

Local filmmakers have until January 31 to submit their short films and documentaries for the Reel Shorts Film Festival.

The Reel Shorts Film Festival has been happening in Grande Prairie for 15 years and draws the attention of many from the Peace Region.

This year’s festival will be returning to in-person attendance from April 26 to May 1 and will be held online across Canada from May 2-8.

Festival Director Terry Scerbak tells EverythingGP, there are some specific requirements local filmmakers need to follow if they want to submit their film for the festival.

“The films should be between two and 31 minutes and tell a really good story. It could be a documentary (or fiction),” she explained. The filmmaker needs to live in the Peace Region or be from the Peace Region, or the film itself needs to be shot in the Peace Region.”

Scerbak encourages all local filmmakers to submit their work.

“We had six fantastic Peace Region films (in 2021), it was a fantastic year. I’m not sure how many we will get this year, but certainly, if we have enough for a package, we would be thrilled to award another best Peace Region film again this year, that would be amazing.”

Earlier this week, Scerbak spoke to a County of Grande Prairie committee to provide an update on the festival. In that update, Scerbak spoke to the number of talented filmmakers there are in the Peace Region and many others who are willing to showcase the Peace Region as part of their work.

“I was excited telling them about the growth of the film-making community here in the Peace Region,” she said. “Telus STORYHIVE has actually been putting in quite a bit of money into projects here. When I contacted them (Telus STORYHIVE) they told me since 2017, they’ve put in over a million dollars into 32 projects in the Peace Region. I wanted to point out to council the economic development impact of having filmmakers here.”

You can learn more about the festival by visiting their website. More information on the status of the festival will be made closer to April.