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Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the online , organized by the Institute for Human Development and Well-being (IHDW) and sponsored by , Canada’s leading international development agency focused uniquely on education and literacy.

This special spring festival aimed to give an opportunity to everyone to use their cellphones creatively to comment on COVID-19 in their lives. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, distancing has become a necessary practice and a great many of us rely on our cellphones to stay connected now– more than ever.

The festival took place on Friday 12 June 2020.The online platform for this festival was a first for the organizers and allowed for most of the judges, many of the contributors, and several of the prize winners to share a zoom screen., along with Scott Walters, the CEO of CODE and the emcee for the event, Colette Anton.

Over the course of the event, the judges explained the significance of the winning Cellphilms and their relevance to the theme, ‘Well-being in the Time of Distancing’. The first place Cellphilm by Alexa Ahooja and Kevin Ah-Sen offered a unique and provocative view on racism and stigma in the time of COVID-19. As highlighted by Kevin himself IMPELIA(a)L creates a space for more conversations about racism, microaggressions, and inequalities. For the first time in the history of the Cellphilm Festival there was prize for cellphilm-makers under the age of 14. Kendra Ley’s offered a compelling ‘through the eyes’ of a family in the time Covid-19.

The jury for this ground-breaking event included Gabby Daniels (youth activist from Treaty 6), Marjorie Beaucage (Métis activist filmmaker from Treaty 6),Casey Burkholder (Assistant Professor at University of New Brunswick), Emily Prashad (Communications Manager of CODE), Katie MacEntee (Cellphilm specialist from York University), and Layla Zia (Content Manager at StoryBolt). In their remarks the judges commented on the relevancy of the Cellphilms to the theme, coherence of their narratives, creative use of cellphone, aesthetic devices, and technical qualities. As highlighted by Layla Zia we hope that this collaboration goes further since Cellphilms can connect the public to the professional filmmakers and also document real life stories from around the world.

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For a complete list of prize winners and links to the cellphilms see below:

1^st Place Winners:

Cellphilm
By Alexa Ahooja, Kevin Ah-Sen

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2^nd Place Winners:

By Emily Liang, Sunny Liang

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3^rd Place Winners:

By Young Girls Leading Change: Amahle Dlala, Siphosethu Nyamakazi, Siyathanda Nogaya, Phelokazi Mahashi, Xabisa Bless

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14 Years and Under Winner:

By Kendra Ley

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Honourable Mention:

By Salima Punjani

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People’s Choice:

By Darshan Sanju Daryanani

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You can see all entries for the 2020 Ã山ǿ¼é International Cellphilm Festival .

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