Local young filmmaker's COVID film among five screening Friday on Zoom

There’s an online broadcast Friday night of the 2020 Grey Bruce Youth Film Festival and everybody’s invited.

This year’s Zoom screening of five short films replaces the annual in-person event at Galaxy Cinemas, which traditionally has included a brief awards ceremony. COVID-19 pandemic gathering restrictions necessitated the virtual gathering instead.

There is one entry in the festival reflecting the COVID-19 times we’re in, the city’s deputy chief librarian Nadia Danyluk said Wednesday. It features black and white shots of empty streets, the assessment centre, COVID-related signs and ends on a hopeful note, she said.

Danyluk at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library organizes the event, with participation and sponsorships involving local businesspeople, area libraries and the United Way of Bruce Grey.

The youths who made the short films, in Grades 7 through 12, submitted entries including a character study about who you can trust; another about a security guard terrorized by a mechanical panda; there’s a stop-motion animation entry featuring robots and there’s one about two girls, one armed with a spoon, the other a plastic knife, in fight to the death. It was shot at OSDSS.

As a news release about the event says, “Films screened at the Grey Bruce Youth Film Festival are created for a teen audience and may contain scenes some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.”

The films and filmmakers: Shutdown (COVID-19) Magnus Roland Marun; Trust (shady character makes a deal) Adrian Wagenaar; A Week at Panda’s (security guard terrorized by robotic panda) Kyle Manwell, Dominic Manwell, Graeme Manwell; Vayu 80 (Bionicle stop motion) Alexander Downey; Death by Spoon – Amber Moores, Taylor Trimble.

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s been great to see the progression over the years,” Danyluk said of the filmmakers. Often kids submit entries over multiple years of their local school careers.

Some special guests have recorded messages for the filmmakers, including Chris McGruer a local actor, filmmaker and musician and Shelagh McLeod, who directed the 2019 Richard Dreyfuss movie, The Astronaut.

To receive login information to join the 7 p.m. Zoom screening and for more information, email Nadia Danyluk at ndanyluk@owensound.library.on.ca.

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