The YoungCuts Film Festival is an international film festival based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada, whose mandate is to advance the careers of young filmmakers. Originally established in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 2001, the festival was created to identify and help talented young people begin their

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

careers by providing exposure and recognition of their works. In 2007, the festival moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The annual event selects the best 100 films of the year from more than 1,000 submissions by filmmakers 29 years old and under. In 2016, the festival moved from Montreal to Vancouver.

History

Originally launched in

as the Toronto International Teen Movie Festival in 2001, the event was re-organized and re-launched as the YoungCuts Film Festival in 2005. In August 2006, the festival added

as a venue and became bilingual, featuring 50 films including English and French titles. The festival began to receive more submissions from around the world, eventually reaching over 1,000. In 2007, the festival made Montreal its new official home. The festival also set a goal to increase the quantity and quality of films submitted to the festival. As a result, the festival expanded from four days to eight and the number of films presented expanded from 50 to 100. The festival has grown significantly since its inception, and has been actively supported by a number of television and film professionals including

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; born November 29, 1961) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991), ''Passenger 5 ...

, Lalaine, Chris Potter, Maxim Roy, and Frédérick De Grandpré. The festival has received the support of a number of major companies. Its sponsors have included

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

, High Fidelity HDTV, Avid Technology, Quebecor, ''Tribute Magazine'', and the

City of Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

. Louise Kierans is president of the festival and Harvard MBA graduate Jay Moulton has been chairman of the festival since 2005. In 2009, more than one thousand films from twenty countries were submitted to the festival. In 2010, entries were received from 30 countries. In 2011, more than 1,200 films were evaluated leading up to the festival's 10th anniversary celebration in September 2011. In 2012, the festival expanded to include filmmakers ages 25 to 29. In late 2016, the festival moved to its new home in Vancouver, Canada.

References

External links

Young Cuts Film Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngcuts Film Festival Film festivals in Montreal Children's film festivals in Canada Film festivals established in 2001