Editor

The 2012 ReelWorld Film Festival finished with record crowds! “We are thrilled about the attendance at this years’ festival,” beams Executive Director Tonya Lee Williams. “We screened a remarkable selection of Canadian and International films by some very talented filmmakers.”

April 11

The festival kicked off with the feature LUV, directed by Sheldon Candis who was in attendance for the premiere.  Thanks to the generous support of TDBank, ReelWorld held a pre-screening reception at Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas followed by a night out at Allycatz.

April 12

Our ReelYouth program, sponsored by Global Toronto, brought in children from schools around the Toronto area to watch short films and to participate in an NFB animation workshop.  All the children had an enjoyable time!

Our Industry Panels kicked off with the Telefilm Case Study on Low Budget Producers, moderated by Dan Lyon, Feature Film Executive of Telefilm Canada. Other panelists included Michael Melski, Director of Charlie Zone and Brent Barclay, Producer of Charlie Zone.

Attending filmmakers had the opportunity to attend a ReelPrep session with Karen King, President and CEO of Karen King Consulting – who spent time honing their pitch skills.

We also held our annual Face2Face, giving our Emerging 20 a chance to  to meet one-on-one with industry mentors mentors.

There were many screenings throughout the five days including a special presentation of the film Hopelessly in June sponsored by NBCUniversal. Director Vincent Brantley, and stars Keith David and Carolyn Neff were all in attendance. This was a full house screening and the audience was treated to ReelSpeak – a one-on-one interview with Keith David, who shared his experiences as an accomplished actor.

April 13

Our ZoomerMedia panel was moderated by Joan Jenkinson who discussed the opportunities available in digital media and how to bridge the gap between TV/Film and all things digital.

Our annual OMDC (Ontario Media Development Corporation) Brunch was hosted this year at the Granite Brewery. Our host for the event was Consultant of Industry Initatives Martin Harbury of OMDC who has been a big supporter of ReelWorld for the past 12 years.

Screenings continued throughout the day and wrapped up with our anticipated Music Videos Program, a favourite of the festival. The Music Videos Program screened videos from some of today’s biggest and brightest music video directors. After the screenings, the guests were invited to Alleycatz to watch live musical performances.

April 14

The theatre was a buzz of activity with a majority of our screenings happening on this day.

April 15

We kicked of the day with our annual Brunch with Brilliance Awards held at Famous Players Canada Square Theatre.

Our Shorts Programs had their second screenings today and the audience had the opportunity to screen some remarkable films of these talented up-and-coming directors.

We wrapped up the festival with our memorable Closing Night Gala which included a screening of Shakun Batra’s film Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, a wonderful comedy that left us all on a high note.