Now in our third year, the University of Windsor Film Festival will take place on the weekend of October 19 and 20thth, 2007 at the Odette Building and promises to the best so far. The UWFF has grown in size and scope with a dedicated team of volunteers and staff who share the passion for film making as a craft. This year the theme is “Film festivals aren’t just for big cities”. The call for independent short film submissions begins on March 19th through post and online via WithoutaBox, early bird deadline is July 20, 2007 and the regular deadline is September 21, 2007. Submission costs are reasonable and used to partially fund the operations of the festival. Award categories are for Honourable Mention, Special Jury Award for Production, Best Animation, Best of the Fest chosen by the audience. Additionally there will be a DVD compilations of the films shown, t-shirts and a raffle for prizes. Highlights of the festival will include a gala as well as an after party for artists, sponsors and attendees.
History of the UWFF
During the autumn of 2005, the University of Windsor held their first film festival. The concept was brought forth by Professor Sung Min Bae teaching film production in the Communications Studies department at the University for Windsor. He saw a need for a film festival in the region to showcase independent upcoming talent at an international arena like Windsor.
The city of Windsor is located at the American border facing Detroit, Michigan and isolated from larger Canadian cities. This particular situation has led to Windsor developing a distinct personality of diversity and intimacy. With our tight-knit community and Detroit as our closest neighbour, Windsor is at perfect position to launch, access and support independent filmmakers and their films.
With this inspiration, a small crew set forth to bring Windsor and the University a film festival. It took place on at the C.A.W. student centre on campus and ran for two consecutive evenings, screening a total of 25 films mainly from the Windsor and Detroit areas. Consisting of documentaries, mockumentaries, drama, animation and experimental films the event was hosted by two presenters followed by a speech from the festival’s Director, Professor Sung and awards were given out. The event was completely free of submission and admission charges.
The following year, the University of Windsor held their second annual film festival. This time a larger crew of volunteers were dedicated to bring the festival to fruition. The theme for 2006 was “Film as Art” and ran for one evening at the more spacious Odette building on campus. Films were selected by a jury panel comprised of professors and graduate students and the audience participated in a raffle for t-shirts and movies, also choosing a winner for our Viewer’s Choice. Other awards given out were for Best Production, Best Animation and Best Documentary. This year, the festival expanded to include films as far away as Mexico and subjects such as the current state of democracy in Haiti.