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Viewers Choose ‘Backjumping’ in Final Episode of Short Film Face Off
Congratulations to Jay Dahl and his winning film Backjumping, an extreme sport mockumentary that was chosen by viewers as their favourite on Wednesday, May 21st in the final episode of this year’s Short Film Face Off TV series.
Hosted by CBC PEI broadcaster Matt Rainnie, the six-part series aired Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. AST (7:30 p.m. NT) on CBC in the Atlantic region from April 16th. The shows featured panelists were: acclaimed Nova Scotia actor Nigel Bennett, Newfoundland actor/writer Sherry White and New Brunswick writer Christine McLean. Guest panelists included: Juanita Peters, Tara Thorne, David Myles, Jackie Torrens and Joel Plaskett.
The series showcased short films from across Atlantic Canada and panelists were able to question the filmmakers in depth about the process of getting their films made and how they made critical choices about actors, themes and locations.
"This show grew and grew to become a big event that exceeded our expectations,” said Andrew Cochran, Regional Director of CBC Television for the Maritimes. “We were able to see some terrific films, made by the up-and-coming directors of Atlantic Canada, viewers had a chance to have their say, the filmmakers had their films in front of a large television audience, and one of them now has a leap-frog start on his next project. It's been great all around."
Backjumping was one of the four finalists included in the audience polling, along with Former Glories directed by Evan Kelly, The Sparky Book directed by Mary Lewis and The Wake of Calum MacLeod directed by Marc Almon.
“We are extremely proud of our Atlantic filmmakers and pleased to be part of this innovative way to showcase short films to a wider audience,” said Gregor Ash, Executive Director of the Atlantic Film Festival Association. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and a new audience has suddenly connected with, and is excited about, the short films produced in this region. They want to see more!”
“Short films are an incubator for our next crop of feature filmmakers,” added Short Film Face Off Producer, Bill Niven of Idlewild Films.
Viewers were able to vote for their favourite film by phone or online with the process conducted by local electronic voting systems company, Intelivote Systems.
Close to 45,000 votes were recorded and were from every province and territory, from 27 American states and from 23 countries.
Jay will receive a CBC production deal towards his next film.
Short Film Face Off is a presentation of the Atlantic Film Festival Association and CBC.
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