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If you have ridden the subway over the last three years during TIFF - the Toronto International Film Festival - you will likely remember the short films that were playing on the stations' Onestop subway platform screens at the same time. Those films were part of TUFF, the Toronto Urban Film Festival, they were all one minute long, and they were made by people like you and me.
If you're like me, you saw some of the films, but not too many, and if a subway streamed into the station, you didn't hang out on the platform to see the end of what you had started to watch. Well, all of the best films of the last two years are now online at the festival's excellent website. Curious? The films are a lot of fun! At the website you can also get lots of other detail on the festival; it's history, and where it's going this year, and you can get full details on how to submit your film to this year's festival, should you happen to be an aspiring filmmaker yourself. In the meantime, below is TUFF's pitch in a nutshell: give it a read, then head to the website for lots more detail and fun!
Making a great one-minute film, that’s TUFF! The Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF) is a 10-day (September 10-19, 2010) public film festival that reaches over 1.3 million daily subway commuters. TUFF is looking for the best one-minute silent films from across Canada and around the world. Over $10,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the winning films. Artist fees of $100 will be paid to every film that’s selected by our jury to screen on the TTC and on the TUFF website. Films are selected by a guest jury, with the top films chosen by a Guest Judge; this year it's Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Deepha Metha (Water, Midnight's Children). The TUFF 2010 Jury includes Min Sook Lee, Jorge Lozano, Kathleen Mullen, Sarah Robayo Sheridan, Haema Sivanesan, and Michael Zryd. Filmmakers, animators and video artists are invited to consider our urban-themed categories: * Urban Encounters and Other Stories * Our Environment and Urban Growth * The Medium is the Message * Urban Ideas and Politics * Urban Journeys * The City is a Poem * After Night Falls TUFF SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 15, 2010 Submit your film by May 31st and avoid the $10 entry fee. Fees rise to $15 on July 1st. - - - You may also want to take note: 'The Naish McHugh Award for Emerging Filmmakers' which provides a $2,500 cash award from the City of Toronto for "an inspired view of the City of Toronto, reflecting its unique qualities." In order to qualify for the award, you must live or work in the Greater Toronto Area (416/905 area code) and have completed, and publicly screened, between one and six independent film or video works outside of school. Good luck!
