ReelWorld Film Festival 2006 Unveiled

TORONTO: March 23, 2006

Key ReelWorld Film Festival sponsors Citytv, TD Bank Financial Group, CBC Television and Telefilm Canada joined ReelWorld founder and president Tonya Lee Williams today in Toronto as the 2006 Festival programming line up was revealed at the Festival press conference.  The conference was hosted at Rainbow Cinemas Market Square, the general screening venue for this year’s Festival.
 
Award-winning Canadian filmmaker Claude Gagnon’s “finely crafted” Kamataki is set to open the Festival on April 19.  The film stars Matt Smiley.  Gagnon was on hand to present the film’s trailer at this morning launch.  Both he and Smiley will be attending the Opening Night Screening of their film.  Closing the festival on April 23 is the captivating Korean film A Bittersweet Life (Dal-kom-han In-saeng) from renowned director Kim Jee-woon and starring the hugely popular actor, Lee Byung-hun.
 
Williams’ presentation included announcing this year’s Award of Excellence winner, Graham Greene and ReelWorld Trailblazers Julia Kwan, Priya Rao, Hubert Davis, Annie Frazier, Henry and Floyd Kane.  She also officially presented this year’s key art, designed by Joe Taylor of Tempest Design. Other speakers included regional vice president, CHUM Television (Ontario), Nigel Fuller; vice chair TD Bank Asset Management, Satish Rai; program executive Independent Documentary Unit, CBC Television, Sun-Kyung Yi and director, Ontario & Nunavut Regions, Telefilm Canada, Dave Forget.
 
 

Highlights of the 2006 ReelWorld Film Festival line up include Barrio Cuba (Cuba), Flip the Script (U.S.), A Very British Bollywood (England), The Toronto Rap Project (Canada) and Lucky (South Africa).  Special programming includes French language films, this year’s focus called Le Francophonie Spotlight, the children/youth series and a 100% Canadian music video program.  A revamped Industry Series was also spotlighted.  The Series will take place at St. Lawrence Hall.
 
ReelWorld Film Festival takes place April 19-23 at Rainbow Cinemas Market Square.
 
ReelWorld Film Festival is Canada’s premiere non-profit film festival dedicated to nurturing, promoting and celebrating the full spectrum of racial and culturally diverse film and video.  For the past five years, the Film Festival and Foundation have been instrumental in helping talent of colour success in the entertainment industry.  Actress, director and producer Tonya Lee Williams founded ReelWorld in 2001 to provide a platform for emerging individuals of colour in the entertainment industry to build their dreams and hone their skills.

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Available for interviews, Tonya Lee Williams, festival programmers, filmmakers
 
For media accreditation, please visit www.reelworld.ca.
The deadline for accreditation is
April 14, 2006.

For further information, please contact:
Simone Dalton, ReelWorld Film Festival
T: 416.598.7933
E: simone@reelworld.ca

For media information or to set up interviews, please contact:

Kevin Pennant
kp@pennantmediagroup.com