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(Photo Credit: Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association)
By Nathaniel Leigh
Film Festival

PRIMAA hosting Summer Film Festival Jun. 21

Jun 20, 2025 | 11:12 AM

A day celebrating filmmakers in the Peace Region will be held in Grande Prairie Saturday, June 21.

The Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association’s Summer Film Festival showcases over 20 different short films of varying lengths made by local artists from as recent as May 2025 to as far back as 2012.

PRIMAA Vice President Devon Burbank says the event will be split into two packages, with the first package featuring entries from the 2025 Frantic 48 Film Challenge.

“They had 48 hours to script, shoot, and edit a film, and send it in within 48 hours,” Burbank says. “It’s so exciting just to see what you can do with a small film crew in 48 hours and how much work you can put into it. And how little sleep you can have over the course of that!”

The second package will present a wide assortment of films submitted by Peace Region residents.

“We actually have one new film that was made specifically for this film festival this year,” says Burbank. “I love the fact that local filmmakers are just exercising their talent and having fun and growing their skills. Every single festival we have, we can see each filmmaker develop new skills and grow.”

(Photo Credit: Peace Region Independent Media Arts Association)

Burbank says the festival is a great opportunity to observe the love, care and effort of the Peace Region’s filmmaking community.

“You appreciate it a little bit more watching short films that took months to polish over some of these big blockbuster films,” she says. “There’s kind of a structure to some of these larger films these days. All of our short films don’t have structure! They’re so creative, and you can tell that they come from so many different unique minds.”

The event will also include board games provided by Card’s Cafe, snacks served at the Grande Prairie Live Theatre lounge, and the chance to vote on your favourite out of the shorts.

It’s all happening Saturday at GPLT, staring with the Frantic 48 package at 1:30 p.m. followed by the Local Reels package at 5:30 p.m.

by Nathaniel Leigh