YORKTON - Canadian filmmakers only have a few days left to submit their productions to the Yorkton Film Festival for adjudication, with a deadline of Jan. 31.
The festival has 16 main categories such as animation and experimental, six accompanying categories which include subjects like Indigenous programs and mental health, three craft categories for direction (fiction/non-fiction) and research as well as two special awards; the coveted Best of the Festival and the Kathleen Shannon Award which is accompanied by a $1,000 cash prize, according to YorktonFilm.com, the festivals website.
"We're very pleased with submission numbers," said Randy Goulden, Executive Director for the festival. "We've received entries in all categories and are close to our target goal."
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the festival and the current plan is to host an in-person event, though, due to the nature of the ongoing pandemic, this might not occur.
"All planning involved [for the event] will make it easy to shift or pivot to a virtual festival if need be," said Goulden, adding, "for the past two years we've had a virtual gala and awards ceremony."
Currently, the festival's team is busy putting together the jury groups that evaluate the films submitted in each category.
"Juries consist of five professional filmmakers from across Canada with a jury head for each category," said Goulden.
The Yorkton Film Festival is the longest running film festival in North America and takes place from May 26 to 29. For details on the competition, visit their website at YorktonFilm.com.
