Sharing the silver screen will be the top picks in each genre – short fiction, provocative documentaries and cutting-edge alternative works – selected by five leading lights of the Canadian film and media scene. The winning titles will be announced at the event.

The jurors for this year’s program are Scott Miller Berry, executive director of the Images Festival; film and television producer Sandra Cunningham (Fugitive Pieces, Triple Sensation, Being Julia, Possible Worlds); documentary filmmaker Min Sook Lee (My Toxic Baby, Tiger Spirit, Hogtown: The Politics of Policing,); filmmaker, writer and actor Daniel McIvor (Whole New Thing, Marion Bridge, Past Perfect, Wilby Wonderful); and CBC film critic Jesse Wente

The jury made their selections from a shortlist of 22 nominees, chosen from a pool of 173 films produced last season by undergraduate students in York’s Film Department. In addition to genre winners, recognition is also given to exceptional achievement in specific creative/technical crafts of filmmaking such as cinematography, sound and editing.

"Cinesiege is an important event in the life of our department each year,” said York film department Chair Amnon Buchbinder. We not only showcase some of the best of the hundreds of films our students make each year, we welcome five very accomplished jurors from the film and television world to recognize these students' exciting accomplishments."

Jurors will be on hand at the screening to introduce the CineSiege picks and explain why they were chosen.

Making the cut at CineSiege is often a harbinger of great things to come. Many York student productions launched at CineSiege have gone on to screenings and honours at festivals around the world.

Such success stories include The School (2003) by Matthew Miller and Ezra Krybus, which has played at more than 25 international fests and picked up numerous awards including best Canadian short at the Atlantic Film Festival and the gold plaque for best student narrative, Chicago International Film Festival. Hugh Gibson’s Hogtown Blues (2004) screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and Palm Springs International Short Film Festival as well as taking home the audience award at the 46th Bilbao Film Festival. Tess Girard’s Benediction (2005) won a special jury citation at the TIFF Group’s national student film showcase and the NFB’s Norman McLaren Award for best overall production at the 36th Canadian Student Film Festival in Montreal. Joyce Wong’s Banana Bruises (2006) was shown at the Hong Kong International Film Video Awards, San Francisco International Asian Film Festival and the closing night gala of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Jamie Cussen’s Rock Paper Scissors (2007) won Outstanding International Short at the Beijing International Student Short Film and Video Festival and screened as an official selection at the Austin and Atlantic international filmfests. Pouyan Jafarizadeh Dezfoulian’s Morning will Come (2008) played at the Los Angeles and Montreal film festivals and won the audience vote for the Vtape Award at the 2009 Images Festival.

CineSiege is made possible through the generous support of Cinespace Film Studios. The event runs one night only, Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7pm at the Royal, 608 College St. General admission is $10, and $5 for students.

For more information, visit Cinesiege 09 or call 416.736.2100 ext. 33592. 

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York University’s film department is one of Canada’s leading centre for professional education in the field. It offers hands-on studio training in all aspects of production, screenwriting and directing, combined with studies in film history, theory and criticism. Distinguished alumni include director/producer Larry Weinstein (Inside Hana’s Suitcase, Blindness,  Mozartballs, The Music of Kurt Weill: September Songs, Thirty-Two Short Films about Glenn Gould); visual effects editor Tim Eaton (Beowulf, Zathura, The Polar Express, Titanic); cinematographers Paul Sarossy (Chloe, Adoration, Where the Truth Lies, Ararat) and Mark Irwin (All’s Faire in Love, Ace Ventura Jr., American Pie 2, Me, Myself & Irene); screenwriter and producer Robert Cooper (Stargate); and directors Aaron Woodley (Tennessee, Toronto Stories, Rhinoceros Eyes), Karen Shopsowitz (Canada’s War in Colour), Ali Kazimi (Rex Vs. Singh, Runaway Grooms, Continuous Journey), Bronwen Hughes (The L Word, Stander, Kids in the Hall), and Carl Bessai (Cole, Mothers&Daughters, Normal, Unnatural & Accidental).

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Clip reel available for media preview

Media Contact:
Amy Stewart, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University
416.650.8469  |  amy.stewart@yorku.ca