VICTORIA – The Province, together with the BC School Trustees Association and numerous film industry partners, is introducing a new student film project and festival called Reel Vue, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.

“A film festival is a great way to celebrate BC’s 150th while also giving voice to B.C. students,” said Bond. “So many wonderful stories make up the rich past of our province, and who better to tell those stories than our young people – our future.”

Reel Vue 2008 will incorporate submissions of student art, music and writing on the theme of history, and the concepts of choice, home, humanity, space, and time, in recognition of BC150 Years. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 22, 2008. Film experts will review the submissions, select some of the best, and, based on the potential for a single and strong narrative, group the students into five teams of three. These students will be named in March.

Selected students will gather for a week in early April at the Gulf Island Film and Television School, or GIFTS. There, teams will collaborate with the assistance of an industry professional assigned to guide them through the process of reworking their art into a larger narrative, telling their stories through film.

Films will be screened at a festival-like event in June. The students will also have the opportunity to enter their films into the BC Media Educators Film Festival and the Vancouver Student Film Festival.

“Unlike so many other film competitions, the centre of this one is storytelling, which is the hardest part of making a film, and the truest part,” said David Hauka, Vancouver Film School’s head of film production. “It’s about being able to say something that speaks to people. That’s the power of this particular program.”

Reel Vue may be repeated in future years with different themes, like the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. More information and submission guidelines can be found at www.reelvueonline.com.

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