Call for short films: Mississauga Celebration Square in 2011

The City of Mississauga, the Toronto suburb immediately to the west, opens a new public space later this year called Celebration Square. For this occasion, they have put out a call for silent short films, from one to three minutes in length.

They have three categories -- Celebration Squares, Smiles and Saris; Public Space Moments, Meetings and Monuments; and Wild Card, Show us what you've got. The "saris" may refer to the announcement that Mississauga participates with Toronto in the 2011 Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Awards.

There are three first place prizes. Two will receive $500, while an overall first place winner receives $1000. Honourable mentions receive $100.

There is no entry fee. The deadline is May 2.

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Show your work on Celebration Square’s new outdoor screens!

Deadline: May 2, 2011

The City of Mississauga invites submissions for short silent films. There is no fee to enter and up to $2000 in prizes are available to be won. Selected films will be shown on the two 16' by 28' LED screens in Mississauga Celebration Square.

Mississauga Celebration Square in 2011

Mississauga Celebration Square, the city's downtown public square located adjacent to City Hall, is currently undergoing a $40 million dollar renovation that includes two permanent large-format urban screens. The square attracts over 300,000 people annually, with the annual number of visitors expected to increase after the renovation.

Criteria and Themes

This is an international open call for silent film, video and animation in all genres that is from one to three minutes in length. We accept work from both professional filmmakers and emerging talent. Films must be new or never publicly screened in the Greater Toronto Area. Submissions should be made under one of the themes below. Maximum of one entry per theme:

• Celebration Squares, Smiles and Saris
• Public Space Moments, Meetings and Monuments
• Wild Card Show us what you've got

Awards 

Our jury will select a winner for each of the three themes, as well as up to ten honourable mentions per theme. From the three first place winners, one grand prize of $1000 will be awarded as well as two $500 first place awards. The honourable mentions will each receive $100 and public screening of their work.

Jury

• Sharon Switzer, Media Artist and Curator, Art for Commuters, on the Onestop TTC subway screens
• Christof Migone, Curator, The Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto Mississauga
• Carmen Ford, Filming Liaison, Film and TV Office, Culture Division, City of Mississauga
• Paola Poletto, Arts and Culture Supervisor, Culture Division, City of Mississauga
• Finola Pearson, Manager, Celebration Square Events, City of Mississauga

Schedule
Artist call opens: 1 February 2011
Artist call closes: 2 May 2011
Winners announced: May/June 2011
Premier screening: Summer 2011

How to Submit
Films must adhere to the following guidelines and cannot exceed 1 GB:
Length: Minimum 60 seconds and no more than 3 minutes long
Audio: No audio
Format: Widescreen (16:9), square pixels at 300 x 540.
NTSC standard (4:3) submissions will get floated
Frame rate: 30 fps de-interlaced, if possible
Codecs: Windows Media 9 or 10
File extensions: Typical file extensions used in Windows media players can be supported:
AVI, MPG, MPEG, WMV, ASF, WMA, WM

We only accept movie files on CD or Data DVD to the address below. Please do not send ‘playable’ DVDs. You must include your completed and signed submission form as a hard copy and as an MS Word file on disk.

See www.mississauga.ca/culture for more information including the Rules and Regulations. If you have any questions, please contact: helena.grdadolnik@mississauga.ca