Cinema Canada (Apr 1976)

SEVENTH ANNUAL CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR FILM FESTIVAL The seventh annual Canadian International Amateur Film Festival (CIAFF) will be held in Ottawa July 21 24, 1976. Screening of films which pass the preliminary judging and reach the finals will be held in the afternoons and evenings of those days in both the Archives Theatre and the Museum Theatre, Ottawa. On Saturday evening the winners will be screened and awards presented, followed by a reception for entrants, representatives of Canadian and foreign governments, leaders in the film world and invited guests. The Festival is open to all amateur cine productions in 8mm, Super 8 or 16mm which have been made with no commercial purpose or profit in mind and which have not been sold, commissioned, sponsored nor subsidized in any form. The films must also have been produced and photographed by persons not engaged in cinephotography as their main source of income at the time the film was made. The CIAFF, as its name implies, is international in scope, and each year films are entered in competition from many countries of the world. Many of the entries are Canadian, and Canadians have won a fair share of the awards but never the top one. To date the award for the best film has been won twice by the United States, and once each by England, Malta, West Germany and Italy. Will this be Canada’s year? The CIAFF is sponsored by the Society of Canadian Cine Amateurs (SCCA), a federally incorporated so-. ciety composed of filmmakers across Canada whose objective is to promote the art and science of motion picture photography and to foster and stimulate interest in amateur films. It should be made clear that there is a vast difference between “amateur” films and ‘home movies’. The latter use a movie camera as an interesting 50/ Cinema Canada Kelly, Harold and Mary Cosgrove’s Manx cat, who starred in their film Trapped, studies SPECIAL EVENTS the Elmo Trophy awarded to Trapped as the best Super 8 film in the 1975 Canadian Inter national Amateur Film Festival way to record vacations and family events. But the true amateur makes a serious study of cinematography and uses it for self-expression, to unleash imagination, and for the pure love of the art without a thought of financial remuneration. In addition to the contributions of SCCA members, the Festival is supported financially by grants from the Department of the Secretary of State, the Ontario Arts Council, and several Canadian corporations. Festival Patrons include Norman McLaren of the National Film Board, Gerald Pratley, head of the Ontario Film Institute and well known film critic, Christopher Chapman and Dan Gibson. The latter three are also members of the Festival Committee. The international adjudicating panel of top-ranking amateur filmmakers and experienced judges _ includes, among others, Tony Rose, the editor of the English magazine Movie Maker, Mrs. Margaret Conneely of Chicago, and Jack Ruddell of Toronto. The best film in the Festival is awarded the Festival Trophy, and the best Canadian entry receives the Molson Trophy and a $300 cash award. In addition, there are awards to the best film in each of several categories, viz. Scenario, Documentary, Natural Sciences (nature), Humour, Animation, Most Original Theme or Treatment, Best Film Promoting Canada, Best Super 8 Film, Best Film by a teen or teens aged 16 to 19, and Best Film by a teen or teens under 16 years of age. Any film may win more than one award. Other special awards may be instituted by the Festival Committee at its discretion, and the judges may award, at their discretion, any number of Special Commendations in the form of Certificates. Deadline dates are May 1, 1976, for entry forms, and May 15 for films. Write for entry forms and/or for further information to Mrs. Betty Peterson, Festival Director, 4653 Dundas Street West, Islington, Ontario, M9A 1A4. 0