FILM CRITICISM WORKSHOPS
FOR YOUTH AGES 9-19
AT THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

VANCOUVER, NOVEMBER 5, 2002 -- Opinionated film fans ages 9-19 are invited to take part in film criticism workshops at the National Film Board, 1385 West 8th Ave., November 24 and December 1. The Reel Attitude Workshops will launch the fifth edition of Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families.

These two-day workshops will take place on Nov. 24 & Dec. 1 in two sessions: students in grades 5 to 7 attend from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm; while students in grades 8 to 12 attend from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Registration is recommended at 604- 224-6162. The cost is only $35 per student and includes a free pass to all public screenings at the March film festival.

Over two days, students watch films from around the globe, sharpen their critical eye, and decide what makes a film “good.” This interactive program uses short films and film clips to show what’s behind the illusion we see on the screen. Sessions are both fun and challenging. The Reel Attitude Workshops are taught by STUART POYNTZ, Education Director of the Cinematheque and VENAY FELTON, Director of Reel to Real.

Successful graduates of this workshop may apply to become part of the Reel Attitude Youth Jury during the Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families ~ March 4-8, 2003. The youth jury will help organizers select films and videos, and choose this year’s award winners.

The Reel Attitude Youth Jury is sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada. Reel to Real: A Celebration of Moving Images for Youth is a non-profit organization dedicated to media education and new audience development for Canadian film and filmmaking.

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 10, 2003

Reel to Real International Film Festival
for Youth and Families Announces its 2003 Program
Information Hotline: 604-224-6162 or visit our website: www.r2rfestival.org
Media Contact: Mirjana Galovich 604. 682. 5589 mgalovic@direct.ca

Vancouver, BC –The 5th edition of Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families opens on March 4-8, 2003. A five-day celebration of film and video for youth ages 9 to 19, focuses this year on Frendship and Forginvness. It includes a comprehensive school program, running Tuesday through Friday at the Roundhouse Community Centre, and a public program Friday evening and all day Saturday at Tinseltown Cinemas, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver.

The School Program presents, to name but few, the award-winning documentary OCHRE AND WATER, a deeply moving account of the Himba of Namibia resistance to a hydroelectric scheme that will flood their pasture and ancestral graves, threatening their way of life as successful nomadic herders, and Vancouver director Marianne Kaplan’s DECONSTRUCTING SUPPER, that documents chef John Bishop’s discussions with scientists, activists, journalists and farmers around the world about genetic engineering and modern food production.

Reel to Real opens to the general public on Friday, March 7, 2003 with the screening of Gemini Award-winning director, Eleanore Lindo’s Vancouver premiere of, TOUCHING WILD HORSES. Starring Jane Seymour ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", "Live and Let Die", "Somewhere in Time") and Mark Rendall ("Tales from the Neverending Story,"  “Impossible Elephant”) this touching drama portrays a reclusive scientist living on an island doing research on wild horses, whose life suddenly changes when her traumatized nephew starts living with her. Director Eleanore Lindo will be in attendance.
Other highlights include: AN ANGEL FOR MAY, by British director Harley Cokeliss, starring Tom Wilkinson (”In the Bedroom”), about a young hero who falls through a magical time portal and gets transported to wartime England in the 1940s. There he develops a warm friendship with orphaned evacuee May, and helps her overcome much of her trauma from the war. MINOES, by Dutch director Vincent Bal, one of the biggest box-office hits in the Netherlands, telling the story of a young journalist Tibbe, who is about to be fired because he can’t track down any news stories. Enters the remarkable Miss Minoes who tells him she used to be a cat.  
The festival will also present international features all day Saturday, March 8. Highlights include: the Vancouver premiere of the Canadian film, A PASSAGE TO OTTAWA, directed by Gaurav Seth, about seven-year-old Omi (Nabil Mehta) who is sent to Ottawa to live with his uncle when his mother falls gravely ill in India. Unaware that his mother is likely to die, Omi believes he is on a secret mission to find a superhero who will save her. Is Roland (Jim Codrington), the captain of a local tour boat who begins a romance with Safia (Amy Sobol), Omi’s feisty teenaged cousin, the hero he is looking for? The film won a “Special Mention” Glass Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

25 KIDS AND ONE DAD, directed by Huang Hong from China, about a farmer who understands what it’s like to be a poor kid without a family. Recent Chinese reform has turned Zhao into a wealthy man who wants to give back to the community. When he announces on a national TV his intention to become the dad of all orphans, children come flocking to him, and he has to figure out how to give them the love and life they deserve.

For show times and details check: www.r2rfestival.org

For Immediate Release Media Contact: Mirjana Galovich
February 14, 2003 T: 604. 682. 5589 mgalovic@direct.ca

REEL 2 REAL film fest presents the best in contemporary international children’s cinema showcasing 31 films from 9 different countries

Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for youth and families, opens on March 4 and runs to March 8, 2003 at Tinseltown Cinemas and the Roundhouse Community Centre. The screening programs include live-action, animated shorts and features from Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Germany and UK.

The theme for the 5th edition of Reel 2 Real Festival is finding friendship in the most unlikely places. Films are suitable for youth between 6 and 19 and their families and teachers.

The festival includes a comprehensive school program geared for the different age groups. The School Program runs March 4- 7, 2003 at the Roundhouse Community Centre and Tinseltown Cinemas, and it is divided into: Reel Focus (Grades 5-7), Take 2 (Grades 8-12), and School Matinees (Grades 5 –12). Students learn about script writing, video editing, career opportunities, pitching a TV series, and more.

Feature films in the School program for Grades 5-7 are: “A Passage to Ottawa” by Guarav Seth (Canada), “Minoes” by Vincent Bal (The Netherlands), “An Angel for May” by Harley Cokeliss (United Kingdom), and “I Was a Rat” by Laurie Lynd (Canada/UK).
For Grades 8-12 the feature films are: “One-Way Ticket to Mombasa” by Hannu Tuomainen (Finland), “Malunde” by Stefanie Sycholt (South Africa), and “25 kids & One Dad” by Huang Hong (China).

A special documentary film program at the Roundhouse Community Centre on Tuesday, March 4 begins at 5PM featuring: “The Ball” by Orlando Mesquito from Mozambique, the award-winning documentary “Ochre and Water” by Craig Matthew and Joelle Chesselet from Namibia and the Canadian “Deconstructing Supper” by local director Marianne Kaplan who will be in attendance.

Friday, March 7 at 6PM marks the Opening Night Screening and Awards Celebration. Every November, Reel 2 Real offers workshops in film criticism at the national Film Board of Canada. Two Youth Juries are chosen from successful workshop graduates (ages 9-12 and 13-19). The Youth Juries help organizers select films for the Family Film Festival and give out awards to filmmakers.

The Award Celebration will be followed by the screening of an award-winning Canadian film, TOUCHING WILD HORSES, by Director Eleanore Lindo (in attendance).

Tickets are: $5 for children and adults accompanying children
Tickets for the School Matinee Screenings: $3
Tickets for Opening Night Award Celebration:&10 adults; $7 youth and children.

Information hotline: 604. 224. 6162 website: www.r2rfestival.org

For Immediate Release Media Contact: Mirjana Galovich
February 26, 2003 T: 604. 682. 5589 mgalovic@direct.ca
Detailed program: www.r2rfestival.org

REEL 2 REAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL A REEL TREAT
If you are one those people who think that films for young audiences are dorky and boring, you’d better check out REEL 2 REAL International Film Festival for Youth, March 4 – 8, 2003 at Tinseltown Cinemas and the Roundhouse Community Centre. It appears to be aimed at teenagers but grownups will enjoy watching these films as well.

“It is our fifth birthday and to help us celebrate we have invited some special guests: Gemini Award-winning director, Eleanore Lindo, for the Vancouver premier of her celebrated new film, TOUCHING WILD HORSES and Lesra Martin, to name but a few” says Venay Felton, R2R’s Executive Director.
“But it is not only celebrities who make REEL 2 REAL special,” continues Felton, “It is a program put together by aYouth Advisory Board and two youth juries, comprised of kids 9 to 12 and 13 to 19 years of age. They have crafted the Festival’s strongest program to date with highlights including: MINOES, a box office hit in the Netherlands; AN ANGEL FOR MAY by British director Harley Cokeliss, about time travel; 25 KIDS AND ONE DAD, a comedy from China, and MALUNDE, a first feature by the South African director, Stefanie Sycholt. A must- see event at the REEL 2 REAL Festival is Show us Your Image of the Future - Youth Produced Films, Saturday, March 8 at 11am. It is a unique insight into today’s youth. Grade 11 & 12 students from high schools across the Lower Mainland were selected to attend an intensive Advanced Video Production Mentorship Program for three weeks at the Pacific Cinémathèque. Over a three-week period, they produced videos on their image of the future. A discussion with the directors, cast and crew of each film will follow this screening.

Ticket Prices
Regular admissions for screenings*
$5.00 for children and adults
$4.00 for members
* Includes free admission to all Reel Activities at the International Village.
Opening Night Film and Award Celebration
$7.00 for children and youth
$10.00 for adults
Discount tickets
10 pack for $40 (25% savings)
20 pack for $60 (40% savings)
REEL TO REAL FAMILY PASSES
An unlimited pass for a family of four is $25. The pass is good for all regular REEL TO REAL screenings (does not include Opening Night).

March 2 - 11, 2004
Vancouver, Canada

Two venues

Tinseltown Cinemas
88 West Pender Street

and

Roundhouse Community Centre
On Pacific Boulevard
between Drake and Davie Streets

Information Hotline:
604-224-6162

Mailing address:

Reel to Real
International Film Festival
For Youth and Families

c/o National Film Board of Canada
#200-1385 West 8th ave.
Vancouver, B.C.
V6H 3V9
CANADA