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Early deadline for Whistler Stories grant program

Get that snow before it goes

By Nicole Fitzgerald

The Whistler Film Festival Society is putting out an early call for the Whistler Stories film commission competition this year with the proposal deadline March 28.

“It will give filmmakers a chance to film when there is still snow on the mountains,” said Shauna Hardy Mishaw, festival founder, of the early deadline date.

The Whistler Stories program funds four short film projects a year leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Films, based on stories from the Sea to Sky corridor, must focus on Olympic themes of culture, education and/or sport.

Films can be documentary, fictional or animated and must demonstrate a creative approach to the subject matter.

“We are looking for films that tell the story of this magical place — its spirit, its inhabitants and what it is that draws people here,” said Bill Evans, festival programmer. “Anyone who has spent time in the Whistler area knows that the place is full of great stories.”

Each filmmaking team will be awarded a $5,000 grant to produce a five-minute short film.

Films will premier at the Whistler Film Festival in December. All Whistler Story films will culminate into a feature presentation at the Games.

“Whistler Stories is like passing the torch form one storyteller to the next,” said last year’s participant John Meadows. “It’s what filmmaking is all about — telling great stories and inspiring others.”

For submission guidelines, visit whistlerfilmfestival.com.