RBC funds film festival program

RBC recognizes that the arts are the heart and soul of our communities ….
— Gillian Potter,
RBC Yorkton branch manager

A lot of the time, talent just isn’t quite enough.

That is the impetus behind a new Yorkton Film Festival program launched this year with a big input of funding from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

The RBC-YFF Mentorship Program will connect up to seven emerging filmmakers per year for three years with established industry professionals. The mentor will spend a minimum of 52 hours with the program participant over a period of one year.

“A huge part of our festival has always been focused on identifying and recognizing emerging talents, from fostering the next generation of filmmakers with our Student Day program, to directly recognizing emerging filmmakers at our

Golden Sheaf Awards Gala, and we’re pleased to have RBC support us on this initiative,” said Randy Goulden, YFF executive director.

The RBC Foundation put up $30,000 to make the program happen. The film festival will use the first installment of $10,000 to bring together the first round of participants during this year’s festival May 26 – 29. YFF will monitor the mentorship and bring them back for a final meeting at the 2017 festival. YFF will also attempt to publicly screen any fruits of the program during future festivals.

Applications for this year’s program closed April 29. Eligibility was not restricted, but preference will be given to filmmakers who submitted to the 2016 festival.

Gillian Potter, RBC Yorkton branch manager said RBC is proud of its association with the film festival. For several years, the bank has sponsored the Emerging Filmmaker Award, which includes a $1,000 bursary and the branch supports its employees to provide volunteer labour to the festival.

“RBC recognizes that the arts are the heart and soul of our communities, and artists in these communities are on the cusp of success, looking for all the support they can get,” Potter said.

Nationally, the RBC Foundation has run the Emerging Artists Project since 2013 with a commitment of $6.7 million to arts and cultural organizations.