It brought Jeanne Beker to Newfoundland and put an emerging filmmaker’s first film on the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival’s closing night gala screen.

Initiated in honour of Michelle Jackson, a young Newfoundland filmmaker and student mentor who passed away suddenly in 2008, the RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award supports emerging female filmmakers residing in Newfoundland and Labrador. The competition is open to female Newfoundland and Labrador filmmakers who have not yet directed a feature film. Applicants are asked to submit a script for a six-minute short film, a production schedule and budget. Scripts will be judged by a selected panel.

The winner will receive close to $40,000 in cash and in-kind production services for their film, and will be mentored by award-winning director and producer Anita Reilly McGee. The winner’s film will premiere on the closing night of the 23rd Annual St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, on October 20th, 2012, at the Arts and Culture Centre.

Last year’s winner is the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s 2012 Artist of the Year, Ruth Lawrence, who filmed Two Square Feet, starring Jeanne Beker. The film is about a woman coping with a divorce who meets someone that changes her life forever. Allison White, an up-and-coming producer and director, was the inaugural winner in 2010. She used the prize to make Decoloured, a short film about a colour blind man whose vision is changed when he falls in love.

For instructions on how to apply for the RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award, visit the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival webpage:

http://www.womensfilmfestival.com/pg.php?p=23

The deadline to apply is June 1st, 2012.

For more information about the RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award, please contact:

Sarah Smellie
Communications and Publicity Manager
The St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival
709.754.3141 (w)
709.689-0296 (c)
sarah@womensfilmfestival.com

A letter from the Parrsboro Film Festival 2012:

If you are a film maker in Atlantic Canada, whether professional, student or amateur, we invite you to submit your short films to the 2nd Annual Parrsboro Film Festival.

A jury will select films in two categories:
— shorts (more than 5 minutes but no more than 20 minutes) and
— short shorts (no more than 5 minutes)

The audience favourite in each category will receive a certificate of appreciation.

Deadline for submission is September 1, 2012. (We cannot guarantee that submissions received after September 1 will be eligible for this year’s festival.)

Our theme is films made recently (within the last 2 -3 years) in Atlantic Canada. Any genre will be considered. There is no submission fee.

The submission form can also be downloaded from The Hall’s web site.

The festival is held in our historic Hall, formerly the Presbyterian Church www.thehall.ca on King Street, in downtown Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. This year’s festival will be on October 12-14. Last year’s inaugural festival was a great success with both professional and amateur film makers in attendance.

Parrsboro is located on the beautiful north shore of the Bay of Fundy, two hours drive from Halifax. We have many amenities to make your stay enjoyable. www.town.parrsboro.ns.ca

We look forward to welcoming you to Parrsboro,
Helen Tyson
Parrsboro Film Festival Committee
P.O. Box 634
Parrsboro, NS
B0M 1S0
e-mail: helentyson@tysons-minerals.com
‘phone: (902) 728-8364
fax: (902) 728-3399

Parrsboro Film Festival
Friday, October 14th – Sunday, October 16th
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

In 2007, a group of dedicated film lovers began showing films twice a week in the former Presbyterian Church (now home to the Parrsboro Band Association www.thehall.ca) on King Street in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia www.town.parrsboro.ns.ca. We called ourselves “Film for All at The Hall.”

Now, 3½ years later, we are pleased to announce the launching of Atlantic Canada’s newest film festival (www.thehall.ca/parrsboro-film-festival).
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