Elphi student film part of Reel Youth Film Fest

Local Elphinstone Secondary student Dexter Sherwood will screen his short film Phlegm Noir as part of the Reel Youth Film Festival (RYFF), on Thursday, April 3, at Gibsons Heritage Playhouse starting at 7pm. The Festival, presented in partnership with Disappearing Gallery, provides a stage for young filmmakers to show their stuff to a local audience. Admission is $7.

The festival will showcase a collection of incredibly diverse youth-made shorts: deeply honest, disarmingly beautiful and sometimes just plain hilarious. Chosen by a youth selection panel from hundreds of international submissions, this collection presents the world through the eyes of the next generation of filmmakers. The jury selected their favourites based on entertainment value, technical merit and the messages portrayed in the films. Each screening highlights local talent from youth throughout British Columbia.

Today’s youth are becoming ever more aware of the power that they can wield with the use of digital media, and of the international audience that is waiting to hear what they have to say. Exploring issues from addiction to sexuality to the pursuit of love, this collection of 24 short films is as diverse as it is courageous. The disarming beauty and wit of these films, are at turns both warm and unsettling – and in all cases, the films examine what it means to be a young person in today’s world.

The RYFF is a project of Reel Youth – a Vancouver based non-profit whose mandate is to empower young voices through the media arts. Reel Youth’s facilitators deliver issue-based animation and video production programs to youth groups throughout Canada and the world. Major sponsors of the festival include the Vancouver Foundation, Tides Canada Initiatives, and the Mark & Susan Torrance Foundation. Local sponsors include Disappearing Gallery, Sunshine Coast Film Society, Rhizome Up! Media (publishers of sustainablecoast.ca magazine) and the Gibsons Copy Shop.

Organizer and sponsor Kez Sherwood of Disappearing Gallery said, “I was inspired to partner with Reel Youth because I have seen film make a big difference in young people’s lives and wanted to encourage an avenue of exploration. It is exciting to watch the films and variety of content at youth film fests.”

Submitted