This is my fourth year as a programmer for Toronto Youth Shorts, and each year, one of my main goals is to increase the number of participants from the high school level. I am very happy to say that we have received over 80 high school submissions from a variety of schools across Toronto and the Southern Ontario region, and we will be featuring 13 films made from those in high school at this year’s festival. As a youth film festival, it is important to us to feature films from this demographic and these impressive stats were made possible by a team of junior programmers, a newly initiative at Toronto Youth Shorts. 

Our inaugural team is consists of Carri Chen, Christian Gnam, Avondale Nixon, and Meryl Allysa Romo. I had the pleasure of working with these wonderful film buffs in soliciting and programming our high school submissions. Thanks to their dedication, from attending numerous screenings to composing exceptional film notes, we were able to acquire and program some of the best high school films in the region. While reviewing the submissions, I was very impressed with the level of sophistication that these high school filmmakers brought to the table. Wonderful writing, excellent comedic timing, beautiful costumes, and polished cinematography are only some of the great things you can expect from the high school films showcasing at the festival this year. It is inspiring to see the immense talent and drive that these young filmmakers have, which is why we want to showcase their work to our audiences. 

My favorite part of working with the Junior Programmers was gaining insight on the unique perspectives they provided on all the films, including the ones made from university or college film schools and community-based non-academic pieces. Each programmer shed light on a different aspect of their favorite shorts that allowed the rest of the team to appreciate upon second viewings of these films. The level of detail with which they analyzed each film, from character design and story to the technical aspects of film and their personal emotional responses to each piece, made for very  insightful programming discussions, and provided this year's festival with a well-rounded youth voice.

The Junior Programming team and I curated Expect the Unexpected and though the majority of the team are from high school, the program is anything but child-like. Films will touch on domestic violence, sexual abuse, racial tensions, stereotypes, and mental illness. Watching some of these films and choosing to program them for a youth audiences requires an innate sense of maturity and I must give kudos to the junior programming team for that. We chose these shorts because they use the power of film to express the unheard voices of society, and provide insight on these sensitive topics in ways that will resonate with the audience.  We're excited to share with you some of the best of the best films made by youth and we hope you will enjoy them as much as we did.

​-Julia

First off, I'd like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone whose time, energy and talent went into our submissions. I had the pleasure of working with the Toronto Youth Shorts team in selecting this year's films and we were given an embarrassment of riches to choose from. I can't wait to share these films with everyone at the festival. Before we pull the curtain back on August 8, I'd like to tell you a bit about what went into the programming process.

In February, we put out our open call for shorts from under-30, GTA-based filmmakers—but our work was just getting started. Throughout the spring, TYS sent representatives to nearly every high school, college and university student film showcase around the GTA. For every one film submitted, we saw another three or four. Each event had such a large pool of content that were so strong, we were constantly regrouping to discuss it. We looked for common threads, overarching themes etc. In our downtime, we scoured Vimeo and Youtube, reaching out to young filmmakers outside the academic stream. Perhaps most importantly, the work done by TYS staffers in years past continued to pay off. Many of our submissions came from filmmakers whose work we've showcased or considered before, and the growing strength of the TYS reputation helped us reach new eyeballs.

One of the luxuries of programming a film festival in 2015 is that we didn't touch a single DVD, thanks to the wonders of online submission portals. Technology blessed us in other ways, as well: the ubiquity of HD cameras and professional editing software meant that the production values of our submissions often rivaled those of professional films, allowing filmmakers' talent and vision to come through that much more clearly. And, they certainly delivered on that potential. A number of the selections you'll see on August 8 are BIG films despite their length. From sci-fi epics to animation, the films showcase an incredible amount of ambition, both within and beyond familiar genres. On the human drama and documentary side, our selections for this year contribute meaningfully to some of the most important discourses in 2015. Spoiler alert: we think you'll find these films very relevant.

Lastly, a note about the filmmakers themselves: in a place as diverse as Toronto, it was important to us to present work from as many voices as possible. But, the filmmakers made that job easy. We have stories and perspectives from around the world and around the city, all with one thing in common: they're Toronto Youth Shorts. As for that celluloid ceiling? We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

We can't wait to share these gems with you at the festival.

-Paul

We'll be releasing our full lineup this Wednesday but here is a sneak preview of what's in store for the 2014 festival.

Criterion - directed by Dylan Vogel
An experimental film on with how restrictive our personal notions of failure and embarrassment can be.

Forever and Two Days - directed by Elene Mekete
After a not-so-recent breakup, Blayne's friends force her to go out with them on a Saturday night, promising an unforgettable weekend.

Frida and Dingwall Talk About Love - directed by Amika Cooper
Two creatures explore their relationship and reflect honestly on the connection they share. No fluff, no romance, just love.

Hit Me - directed by Alex Chung
A man is confronted and must fight for the woman he loves.

Jessie MacAlpine: A Story of Youth and Science - directed by Nicole Cedic
A young Canadian science prodigy has recently discovered an inexpensive treatment for Malaria that she has filed for patent.

Parked - directed by Myles Milne
After the death of their mother, two sisters struggle with the event in completely different ways.