2019 MPPIA Short Film Award Pitch Candidates Announced!

Vancouver, BC – The Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia (MPPIA), Creative BC and the Whistler Film Festival are pleased to present the 12^th edition of the MPPIA Short Film Award Pitch at the 19^th annual Whistler Film Festival (December 4-8):

Saturday, December 7, 9:30 am – 11:30 am, Maury Young Arts Centre, Whistler (4335 Blackcomb Way)

An annual highlight on the Whistler Film Festival calendar, the 12^th cycle of the MPPIA Short Film pitch will again be distinguished by five promising BC directors competing for the valuable Award.  Based on a comprehensive adjudication process administered by Creative BC, the five finalists and their projects are:

Deborah Burns, The Cold Plate

Liam Callander, Life in Miniature

Camille Hollett-French, Sitting Duck

Sunny Mohajer, Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Heather Perluzzo, Wild Flower

The successful candidate receives a $10,000 cash award from MPPIA, and a $5,000 cash award from Creative BC, plus in-kind production services up to $100,000 for a short film project to be completed within one year after receiving the Award. The completed project will premiere at the 2020 Whistler Film Festival (December 2-6).

Don’t miss the Whistler Film Festival world premiere of last year’s MPPIA Short Film Award pitch winner Alayna Silverberg’s B-Side — set to screen at the MPPIA Pitch as well as at the 12 pm ShortWork 3 screening, both on December 7 at Maury Young Arts Centre.

The MPPIA Short Film Award provides one filmmaker with an opportunity to further develop his/her directing career by realizing a unique creative vision. The Award was founded to recognize and celebrate the contribution of film and television to the Province of British Columbia.          T

he Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC (MPPIA) is a member-based, non-profit society established in April 2002 to grow, diversify and promote a competitive and sustainable motion picture production industry in British Columbia.

Creative BC is a non-profit society established by the provincial government in 2013. Their mandate is to provide the programs, services and expertise needed to expand and diversify British Columbia’s creative industries, stimulate investment and employment in the creative sector and promote BC’s creative content and production capabilities both at home and in the global marketplace.

The Whistler Film Festival Society (WFFS) is a cultural charitable organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler. WFFS produces one of Canada’s leading film festivals and plays a leadership role in offering professional and project development programs for filmmakers. The 2019 Whistler Film Festival runs December 4th to 8th.   The MPPIA Short Film Award is made possible by the above organizations as well as the generous support and contributions of the British Columbia motion picture production community.

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For more information contact and media interview requests:

Leslie Wootton, Director of Communications, Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC, 

604.983.5980, 

lesliew@mppia.com

Erika Kumar, Program Manager, MPPIA Short Film Award, Creative BC,

604.736.7997 

ekumar@creativebc.com

Jacki St. Thomas, Publicity, Whistler Film Festival Account Manager, Jive PR + Digital

310.625.7799 j

acki@jiveprdigital.com