Contest Details

Rules & Conditions

Please read these Rules and Conditions carefully before submitting your video for the 2024 MyView Youth Film Festival:

  1. To be eligible to submit a video, youth must be between the ages of 10 and 24 years old as of May 1, 2024 May 8, 2024.
  2. To be eligible to submit a video, youth must live, work or attend school in Eastern Ontario (Eastern Ontario is defined as West to Kingston & Napanee, North to Ottawa, and East to the Quebec border and includes the following counties: Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington; Lanark, Leeds & Grenville; Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry; Prescott & Russell; Ottawa-Carleton)
  3. Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2024 at 11:59PM ET May 8, 2024 at 11:59PM ET.
  4. The use of original or royalty-free music is required for festival submissions. Please ensure that you have all necessary releases on file, including actors’ releases.
  5. MyView judges will only select films for the contest and festival which are 5 minutes or less.
  6. Only submissions which meet the rules and conditions will be eligible for inclusion in the festival (Note the Tobacco Free Policy of the MyView Youth Film Festival found below).
  7. If submitting more than one film, please submit a separate submission for each film.
  8. Submissions will be reviewed by the nominations committee and nominated based on the following aspects: a) Film Message b) Entertainment Value, and c) Production Value. It is highly recommended to review the judging criteria prior to making your film.
  9. Winners will be selected by a panel of local celebrity judges.
  10. The applicant hereby grants MyView and its sponsors the rights to use all or parts of the film for promotional purposes; to use stills, biographical material, names and likeness from the copies of the film for journalists to review, to show the films at press screenings and to exhibit the film during the festival and at any time before and after the festival.
  11. MyView will use its best efforts to ensure the correct title and credits are listed in the festival program, but shall not be held liable for inadvertent errors or omissions.
  12. Group projects share any prizes awarded.
  13. MyView reserves the right to decide all questions not specifically provided for herein.
  14. MyView reserves the rights to adjust the dates and times of film screenings without notice. MyView shall not be responsible for delays or cancellations due to equipment failure, shipping delays, or the condition of the films delivered.

MyView Youth Film Festival Tobacco Free Policy

The Tobacco Industry has a long and sordid history with Hollywood and films. While outright paid product placement is now banned, exposure to tobacco use in films is still widespread and far exceeds actual use rates in the population. This leads us to wonder if covert payments for promotion of tobacco use are still widespread. The World Health Organization has concluded that the more onscreen smoking youth are exposed to, the more likely it is that they will smoke.

The MyView Youth Film Festival is taking a stand on this issue by creating a tobacco and vaping-free policy for all film submissions. No tobacco or vaping use, imagery, or promotion is permitted in any of the films submitted for the contest. The only exception to this policy is when it is directly related to the message of the film and it is accurately portrayed including the dangers and consequences of its use.

For more information on tobacco use in movies, visit www.smokefreemovies.ca

Judging Criteria

Below are the criteria which will be used in selecting the nominees and determining Judges’ scores for the MyView Youth Film Festival. Please pay close attention to the number of points which are assigned to each category.

MESSAGE – 20 Points Possible

  • Background or Context Presented
  • Provision of Solution or Call-to-action (if applicable)
  • Accuracy of Information Presented
  • Topic is made meaningful to audience

NOTE: the message does not need to be direct, front and centre – it can be conveyed subtly through artistic approaches 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE – 10 Points Possible

  • Holds Attention
  • Lasting Impression (conveys action as take away)
  • Emotional Pull
  • Humour, drama or other strategies are used effectively
  • Creative approach
  • Artistic approach to conveying the message

PRODUCTION VALUE – 5 Points Possible

  • Clarity of Image
  • Clarity of Sound
  • Lighting
  • Editing
  • Flow/Pacing of Film

Film Festival Prizes

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

  1. $1000 Grand Prize – best overall film
  2. $750 I 💖 My Community – best film that positively highlights a local community 
  3. $500 Best original song/music video
  4. $500 YMCA of Eastern Ontario Award
  5. Age Category Prizes (10-13; 14-17; 18-24)

The Nominations Committee determines which films are nominated in each category. Filmmakers are notified of their nominations approximately 4 weeks after the submission deadline.

Final winners in each category are decided by a panel of celebrity judges and announced at the Awards Ceremony

© 2022 MyView Youth Film Festival