Feature Submission

Features

Macbeth 3000
A film about secret agents, Shakespeare and low-brow humor.

Youngcuts Film Festival
A film festival in Toronto, geared towards young filmmakers.

Macbeth 3000 .vs. Youngcuts

The bloody red carpets covered the sidewalks surrounded by stanchions, movie lights and curious onlookers.

"What is all this about?" a curious Ryerson professor asks.

"It's a film festival; indeed, the Youngcuts film festival." I reply.

The professor indulges himself in a can of free Pepsi (courtesy of the sponsor) and bobbles off on his merry way.

But for a festival geared towards filmmakers under 24 years of age, the coordinators spared no expense. From the luxurious opening gala at the Drake Hotel, to the awards show deep within the Ryerson campus, Youngcuts opened with a spectacularly lucid bang.

The first year under the "Youngcuts" name, the festival is actually a replacement to the now-defunct "Toronto International Teen Movie Festival", which faded into obscurity back in 2003. Our first short "Hamlet: The Original Motion Picture" was an official selection in the 2002 festival.

But, the one thing that raises Youngcuts above it's predecessor is the superb new management.

The team works with the filmmakers to get the best experience for everyone involved. In my short days on this planet, I have never seen a more compassionate, excitable and friendly group of film enthusiasts. They treat every filmmaker as if they were Hollywood Gurus, while providing much-needed exposure for the talent. A big, warm, fuzzy thank you goes out to those festival peeps:

Peter Bailey, Ken Hwang, and Jay Moulton

As most of you Supergun super-fans know, Macbeth 3000 made it's festival debut during the festival- screening to a respectable crowd at Rainbow Cinema. At the award show it took
home many nominations and won the category for Best Trailer.

Even before the submission fees were transferred, Peter was contacting us with excellent opportunities for media exposure. Thanks to Youngcuts, the Macbeth 3000 trailer was shown several times on the Razor channel, and even on Much Music! Thanks to those channels (and the show 969) for airing our work!

Youngcuts screened over 100 films from young filmmakers across the continent and boasted some commendable sponsors, including Pepsi, Avid, Razor (a TV channel), Tribute and Rainbow Cinemas. Avid also hosted an editing workshop, where prizes to be won included training DVDs for higher-end Avid software.

You can find out more about Youngcuts at their website: Youngcuts

If you are a filmmaker under 24 years of age, I strongly recommend submitting your film to Youngcuts- with the quality of the films, filmmakers and festival coordinators, Youngcuts may very well be the best venue for young filmmakers to showcase their work- and it can only get better from here.