REEL CANADA (2012)

REEL CANADA is an initiative of members of our national film and television industry, designed to bring Canadian films into Canadian classrooms. It is endorsed and supported by our National Honourary Patron, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, a Board of Directors and an Advisory Committee that includes some of our most prominent filmmakers and producers – Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, Norman Jewison, Robert Lantos, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley, Jean-Marc Vallée and many others have all put their personal endorsement on this vital project.

Essentially, REEL CANADA is a day-long traveling film festival that moves from one school to another.

Each event includes films chosen by the students themselves from a curated program of features, documentaries, animated programs and shorts. Special guest speakers such as actors, directors and other prominent personalities present the films and take part in Q&A’s with the students.

With this initiative we are addressing a very serious crisis in our cultural life in Canada.

Canada faces unique challenges in creating and maintaining a viable cultural identity.  Movies and television from foreign countries, the U.S. in particular, are ubiquitous and overwhelming.   The stories that we consume are increasingly stories told by, and about, others.  At a time when screen-based media is at its peak of influence, Canadians are threatened by the prospect of invisibility.

Most dangerously, the points of Canadian identification for young people are becoming fewer and fewer.  Without an awareness of Canada as a distinct and sovereign nation, succeeding generations may find it more and more difficult to defend our unique social and political values.

REEL CANADA is an attempt to counteract these trends by creating future audiences and instilling in young people a sense of pride in Canadian cinema, as well as some understanding of Canada’s place in the world with regards to what is, in the 21st Century, the dominant cultural medium.

As our program grows into new communities across the country in future years, we believe we can not only increase audiences for our films and help move our education system forward into the modern currency of screen based media, but also, most crucially, nurture a sense of cultural identification among young Canadians.

By telling Canadian audiences Canadian stories – we can build a stronger and prouder Canada.

- Excerpt from Reel Canada’s Official Website

For More information on Reel Canada and how to book a festival visit: http://reelcanada.com/