Canadian Filmmakers Awarded for Taking ‘The Reel Challenge’

^[1]The Canadian Film Centre ^[1] (CFC) proudly announces the winners of The Reel Challenge Contest ^[2] – Take 4. The 4^th edition of The Reel Challenge, Celebrating the Movie and Television Industry at Work: Behind the Scenes, showcased the importance of promoting and protecting the dynamic production industry in Canada, which in 2012 supported the livelihoods of over 130,000 artists, creators and workers. Aspiring filmmakers were given the opportunity to share this very important message and showcase their talents by creating a 60 second comedic or animated short. This year’s contest awarded prizes of $7,500 for Best Comedic Short and $7,500 for Best Animated Short.

James Cadelli from Enbrun, Ontario was awarded the prize for Best Comedic Short for his entry ‘Hands’.  In his witty take on this year’s theme, ‘Hands’ showcases all of the people behind the camera who work to support film and television production in Canada.

The prize for Best Animated Short was awarded to Maja Zonjic from Mississauga, Ontario for her entry ‘Preserve’.  The 60 second animated short looks at the bigger picture of film production in Canada, while asking the audience, “What if all of the people behind the scenes didn’t exist?”

Filmed entertainment takes enormous amounts of time, investment, and effort to make – and in the age of the internet, no time at all to steal.  The Reel Challenge is an opportunity to help tell the story of a dynamic production industry in Canada that supports the livelihoods of the thousands of artists, creators, and workers – in front of the camera and behind it – who shoot and put together entertainment that make us cry, laugh, or even see our world differently.

“Protecting our industry is how we ensure its longevity. There are countless people who work daily in the production industry in Canada and we want to acknowledge them,” said Slawko Klymkiw, CFC’s Chief Executive Officer.

The two winning entries are available to watch on  The Reel Challenge ^[2] web site.

The contest ran from October 16, 2012 until February 25, 2013. Only films of a comedic or animated nature were eligible to enter. The Reel Challenge Contest is an initiative of the Canadian Film Centre, supported by the Copyright Collective of Canada.