EIFF Call for Entries is now OPEN!

The 21^st Edmonton International Film Festival is accepting submissions that are short (20-minutes or less) and feature-length (75-minutes or longer) light documentaries/dramatic films.� We are delighted to announce that entry fees for Alberta filmmakers will be waived this year.�

Coming off a hugely successful festival that ended in October, EIFF organizers are already planning for 2007.� Highlights from the 20^th Edmonton International Film Festival include:

- A 95% increase in film submissions.

- Audience attendance was up by 35% over 2005.

- New programming strand �Our Own Backyard� featured short films created by Albertans � both these screenings sold out!

- �Shorts For Kids� and features for families were new in 2006 and enthusiastically embraced by audiences.

- �24/One� � our second annual 24-hour film challenge � saw a record number of competing teams and more prestigious prizing.� Thank-you Matrix Video!

- The jury prize for Best Alberta Short went to Sandi Somers for �The Artistic Taxidermist�.� Thanks to Frame 30 Productions for sponsoring this award.

- Acclaimed director Zacharias Kunuk attended just two Canadian film festivals in 2006 � EIFF was one of them.

EIFF organizers are also proud to report that audience response and feedback was overwhelmingly supportive.� �The Edmonton International Film Festival is for the people who live and work here� says Kerrie Long (General Manager).� �It has always been our vision to celebrate the films and the people who make them.� Other festivals are about star power � and they do that really, really well.� We look forward to improving the product we create for Edmonton and are all about producing a festival that is better, versus bigger�.���

To achieve that goal, we look to you � the film industry.� Please consider becoming a sponsor or partner with the Edmonton International Film Festival.� And if you�re a filmmaker, do submit your film for our jury�s consideration.� Films must be completed no later than 18 months prior to the fest (after April 1, 2006) and the entry fee for Alberta filmmakers is FREE!� Submit online at www.edmontonfilmfest.com.�

�They�re reel� and very fabulous!�� A huge thank-you to our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and these industry sponsors who helped make the 20^th EIFF better than ever� Alberta Film, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Citytv, Rene Collins (Collinscraft Canada), Edmonton Economic Development, FAVA, Frame 30 Productions, Impact (IMP), Kodak Canada, Gord Marriott, Matrix Video, The Moving Castle, Parcom Marketing, Ratcreek Design, Studio Post & Transfer, Technicolor, Telefilm Canada, WIFT-A, Bruce Wiggins, and The Works Active Media.�

The 21^st Edmonton International Film Festival � September 28 to October 6, 2007.