Organizers of the Airdrie Film Festival (AFF) will once again bring the best of local film to the community, according to Airdrie Film Society President Karen McDonald. This year, the festival takes place Sept. 22 at the Roxy Theatre, thanks to sponsorship from the Airdrie Rotary Club’s Dragons Den program. “A filmmaker’s dream is to see their film actually screened on the big screen, in a cinema,” McDonald said. “We needed a bigger sponsor, so we applied to Rotary and received enough [money] to rent the theatre.” Prizes will be awarded in three categories – Best Short Film, Vitreous Glass Youth Award and the Audience Choice Award – and a panel of independent judges will adjudicate the festival. In its second year, last year’s AFF included a feature film and guest speaker, but McDonald said this year, organizers decided to focus on local filmmakers and will screen as many films as possible during the available time-frame. “We’ll try this, this year – see how it goes – and then, we’ll re-evaluate and see how we move forward into next year,” she said. “We had great feedback [after last year’s festival]. We had about 100 people in the audience last year.” Youth are encouraged to enter by submitting a five-minute short, filmed on a smart phone. “We’re looking for anyone under the age of 18 to submit,” McDonald said. “We’re hoping we can get some local youth who will come forward – we know they’re smart, these kids.” Smart Phone Shorts can be submitted for free online by posting them to a private YouTube or Vimeo account and sending the link to [email protected] The AFF will accept submissions from local filmmakers until Aug. 15. Films must be no longer than 15 minutes and can be submitted at FilmFreeway.com/airdriefilmfestival The festival runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 at airdriefilm.com or at the door for $15. More information is available at airdriefilm.com
