UWPG Film Festival announces 2020 lineup
Offering world-wide access to free film screenings & talks
19th University of Winnipeg Film Festival
October 19-October 24, 2020
The UWPG Film Festival (UWPGFF) is extremely excited to announce programming for it’s 19th year, showcasing 65 short films, documentaries, experimental, animations and multimedia works from post-secondary students from 28 countries around the world this October 19-24, 2020.
Featuring “Feels like home” a 2-night event of Canadian student shorts, “You can be anywhere” a 2-night event of International shorts, and “Imagine your reality” a selection of animated shorts and a variety of industry panels and talks.
The Festival will take place over 6 days in a virtual format, available throughout the world on our Festival website streaming platform and will be available through live broadcast on Facebook live.
UWPGFF’s mission is to provide a stepping stone for student filmmakers to expose themselves to the greater industry outside of their post-secondary institutions and celebrate new emerging filmmakers.
These are not just students, these are the filmmakers of tomorrow and this year, you have the best seat in the house.
The unique circumstances we have all been placed in as a result of COVID-19 has had its own challenges for everyone, and film festivals have not been exempt from these challenges. Film festivals are such a social space, and while we can not all be together this October, we have ideas of how to broaden horizons. “I wanted this year to evoke the feeling of togetherness,” says Festival Director, Miranda Moroz “to experience stories that bring up the feeling of home, expansive reality, and somewhere we’ve never been”.
The Festival typically has shown primarily Canadian films in its past years, and UWPGFF has expanded the Festival and brought in films that tell stories from all around the world.
“[I’m] very proud to have been a part of judging and selecting such a strong program”, says International Film Programmer William Garrood, who has been a part of the film industry in London, England for the last 7 years, “Not to mention the animations, [featuring] one of my favourite shorts I’ve ever seen”.
“There’s a little something for everyone this year, we have really made an effort to select a program that is representative of our Canadian film students, and in the case of the International and Animated Shorts Programs; film students around the world,” says Moroz. The 2020 UWPG Film Festival selection features 65 films, from 28 countries around the world.
Panels & Talks
UWPG Film Festival is so excited to welcome members of our community both near and far for a variety of intriguing panel discussions and talks with industry professionals.
Due to COVID-19, all talks and panels will be hosted over zoom. Please register at uwpgfilmfestival.com to reserve your spot!
Panel: Tuesday, October 20 | 10:00am-11:00am
Creative, Innovative, Responsive: Manitoba’s media production industry is back at work | Join Nicole Matiation, Executive Director of On Screen Manitoba and members of Manitoba's media production industry association for a frank discussion about working in production in the COVID-19 era.
Talk: Tuesday, October 20 | 3:30pm-4:30pm
On Screen Manitoba: a local resource to help you build your career | Nicole Matiation, Executive Director of On Screen Manitoba will guide you through OSM's various programs including; the RBC $10,000 Emerging Filmmakers Pitch Competition, the Telefilm Talent to Watch program, the Content Creator Toolkit, the Get On Set Manitoba website and All Access.
Panel: Wednesday, October 21 | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Careers in Film presented by Film Training Manitoba | Film Training Manitoba (FTM) will be conducting a one-hour panel with a group of film industry professionals about jobs and careers in the film industry. During this moderated session, the panelists will speak about their personal experiences and we will also take questions from the participants. If you are looking at finding your way into Manitoba’s growing film industry and you are seeking tips and best practices about opportunities, this session is for you!
Panel: Wednesday, October 21 | 2:30pm-4:30pm
The Future of Cinema: Virtual Production and Performance | Join Lesley Klassen from Flipside XR as he leads you through shooting a dialogue scene in a virtual space. During this session you’ll gain insight from some experts in virtual performance and acting and watch clips and learn in real-time as the team uses virtual production techniques to capture an unscripted scene.
Talk: Thursday, October 22 | 12:00pm-1:00pm
Lunch with FOLKS: Creating Memorable Shorts | Join Taylor, Nate and Laina from Folks Films for a nice hour-long chat over lunch - moderated by Festival Director, Miranda Moroz to find out just how they make such great award winning shorts.
Panel: Thursday, October 22 | 2:30pm-3:30pm
Meet & Greet: Womxn’s Film and Video Network | Join Sara Bulloch and Allison Stevens from the Womxn’s Film & Video Network virtually to meet & greet with several inspiring and innovative women working in our local industry as they unpack what it means to tell authentic stories from a woman's perspective.
How to attend:
UWPG Film Festival is entirely FREE. We will be streaming our Festival Programs to your screen at home through Facebook Live.
Register as an attendee to get updates when an event is coming up.
If you don’t register, you will still be able to access the screenings on the website at www.uwpgfilmfestival.com/live at the time of the event.
All 65 films for the 2020 UWPG Film Festival selection will be available to be accessed in this online format from October 19th until November 1st.
If you can’t attend our screenings because it’s not a good time for you, we got you covered. Head on over to www.uwpgfilmfestival.com/festival and check out our online film catalogue. When you find a film you like, click on the film and it will take you to the film’s page on our website. There you can follow a private link to our vimeo account, where you can stream the film individually.
That’s right, you can have a Halloween viewing if you want.