Shaftesbury announces $30,000 sponsorship of Etobicoke School of the Arts' Film Program plus inaugural Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Awards

• Shaftesbury to donate $30,000 to the ESA Film program over the next three years
• Inaugural Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Awards announced to recognize achievement and provide mentoring opportunities

TORONTO, May 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Leading creator, producer and distributor Shaftesbury today announced a renewed sponsorship commitment to the Toronto District School Board's Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA). As part of its ongoing support of the school, Shaftesbury will donate $30,000 over the next three years to the ESA Film program. Shaftesbury has also announced winners in the inaugural Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Awards, in order to recognize achievement at each grade level of the ESA Film program. The awards were announced at ESA on Thursday, May 17 by The Listener's Ennis Esmer (Season 3 premieres May 30 on CTV).

"Shaftesbury is committed to nurturing young talent - they are the future of our industry," said Christina Jennings, Chairman and CEO of Shaftesbury. "We look forward to supporting the growth and evolution of ESA's film program with our renewed sponsorship, and celebrating the creativity of the school's filmmakers with our awards initiative."

"Shaftesbury's commitment to arts education is extraordinary. Both the financial support and the mentoring opportunities will be invaluable in heightening the students' educational experience, " said Kevin Johnson, ESA Film program head.

The Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Awards initiative was created to recognize achievement at each grade level of the ESA Film program. Chaired by film critic Adam Nayman (The Grid; The Globe and Mail; Cinema Scope), Shaftesbury's jury has recognized the following films and students after scoring each film on originality, entertainment value, production value and overall impression. Winners received a $500 cash prize per film as well as the opportunity to spend a day on the set of a Shaftesbury production. Nayman and jury members will also meet with film program students to share feedback and discuss their evaluations.

2012 Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Awards

All winning films can be viewed at Shaftesbury's YouTube channel at http://ow.ly/aYTTV

Best Film: Grade 9
Mixdown, Dylan Vogel (http://ow.ly/b85vg)

• Uses a variety of sophisticated techniques to examine our everyday relationship to sound as well as its importance in filmmaking.

Honourable mentions:
The Survival Mechanism, Sarah Ballentine (http://ow.ly/b85nA)
The Daddy Complex, Manon Lemus (http://ow.ly/b85qN)

Best Film: Grade 10
Shadow, Samantha Lucchetta (http://ow.ly/b85jL)

• Draws upon classic suspense-film techniques (and at least one classic film score) to put across its suggestive tale of a girl stalked by shadowy, seemingly inescapable assailants. 

Honourable mentions:
The Outlaws, Joseph Milando (http://ow.ly/b85gG)
Young People in Love, Emily Badgley (http://ow.ly/b85dl)

Best Film: Grade 11
Dinner Tonight, Hinako Hosoya (http://ow.ly/b856e)

• Delightfully macabre - balances its gory details against a deadpan sense of humour.

Honourable Mention:
Writer's Block, Neil Buday (insert http://ow.ly/b852T)

Best Film: Grade 12
The Life and Times of Alex Little, Arwin Chan, Oliver Lauder and Alex Metcalfe (http://ow.ly/b84WT)

• Utilizes some seriously absurd humour and a strangely winning lead performance in a story about the importance of making our own decisions instead of waiting around for fate. 

Honourable Mention:
Spiders, Angus McMaster (http://ow.ly/b84Zx)

About ESA
Etobicoke School of the Arts was founded in 1981 as a specialized arts-academic high school and has the distinction of being the oldest, freestanding arts focused high school in Canada. Named the best school in Toronto by Toronto Life magazine (2006), ESA features Drama, Dance, Visual Arts, Music, Musical Theatre and their newest program, Film which was initiated in 2008-09. ESA is marking the graduation of its first class of film majors this year. Admission to the school is by academic excellence and audition.

About Shaftesbury
Founded in 1987, Shaftesbury is an award-winning creator, producer and distributor of original content for television and multiple platforms in more than 120 countries worldwide. Recent productions include three seasons of The Listener for CTV and Fox International Channels; five seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for Citytv, UKTV and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment; and Ken Finkleman's comedy series Good God. Shaftesbury's slate of programming for kids and families includes the global hit series Life with Derek and the movie follow-up to the series, Vacation with Derek. Shaftesbury's divisions include Smokebomb Entertainment, the company's digital media branch that produces original multiplatform projects including Totally Amp'd and State of Syn as well as companion web experiences; Shaftesbury Factual, focusing on non-fiction storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres; Shaftesbury Sales Company, managing international sales and distribution; and Shaftesbury U.S., the company's Los Angeles-based development division. www.shaftesbury.ca

Image with caption: "The Listener's Ennis Esmer with the Etobicoke School of the Arts' 2012 Shaftesbury Student Filmmaker Award winners. (left to right) Dylan Vogel, Samantha Lucchetta, Hinako Hosoya, Ennis Esmer, Oliver Lauder, Arwin Chan, Alex Metcalfe. (CNW Group/Shaftesbury)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120524_C2536_PHOTO_EN_14149.jpg

Tanya Koivusalo
Communications Coordinator, Shaftesbury
[email protected]
Office: 416-363-1411
Mobile: [phone]

Katherine Wolfgang
VP, Communications, Shaftesbury
[email protected]
Office: 416-363-1411
Mobile: [phone]