Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, Sarah McLachlan to jury new refugee film prize

News: VIFF, Radcliffe Foundation sponsor new short film competition

Former mining entrepreneur Frank Giustra hopes to inspire and engage Canadians about the ‘greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our generation’ through original, ‘call-to-action’ short films

By The Ex-Press

Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, Sarah McLachlan and Atom Egoyan are just a few of the big names putting their clout behind a new film competition conceived as a “call to action” for the global refugee crisis.

Sponsored by the Radcliffe Foundation in collaboration with the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Refugee Crisis Film Competition will award a $20,000 prize to the best short film – up to 60 seconds in length – to a film that “inspires, engages and empowers Canadians to take action on the global refugee crisis.”

The competition is open to all filmmakers across all genres and will feature a nine-member jury that includes the Prime Minister’s partner, McLachlan and Egoyan, as well as Radcliffe Foundation founder Frank Giustra, UN High Commissioner Louise Arbour, Save the Children’s Craig Kielberger, Ivan Fecan, Ryan Holmes and Nicolas Moyer, according the press statement released Tuesday.

“The refugee crisis is the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our generation, of extraordinary proportions. I believe that through education and communication, we, as Canadians can bring together global citizens and humanitarian leaders to make a difference,” said Giustra, a former mining stock entrepreneur and original creator of Lions Gate Studios.

“We know film has the ability to change hearts and minds, to educate and inspure, which is why we believe in this competition,” said Jacqueline Dupuis, executive director of the Vancouver International Film Festival. “Canada is home to a community of creative and compassionate filmmakers and I have no doubt we will see very impactful work produced through this competition.”

Submissions are now open and entries and regulations can be downloaded by visiting refugeestories.viff.org. Submissions will be shortlisted by VIFF programmers with the final ten making it to the all-star jury. The top three submissions will then be posted on-line, with the general public selecting the final winner. The film with the most votes will collect the $20,000 prize plus win a screening slot at the Vancouver International Film Festival, running September 29 to October 14.

For more information, please visit http://refugeestories.viff.org