Racqueteering, a short romantic comedy set in a squash court, will screen at the KCFF. 

Shayna Markowitz (Artsci’14) is passionate about filmmaking. While the third-year film student is drawn to the idea of becoming a director, she’s also interested in screenwriting, art direction and cinematography. That’s why she is excited that a film she helped create, Racqueteering, will be screening as part of the 13th annual Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF). The film is also nominated for the best local short award.

“I’m excited about the experience and plan on going to the workshop and events,” says Ms Markowitz, who hopes to land a job working in the film industry after she graduates. Though Racqueteering, a short romantic comedy set in a squash court, was created as an extracurricular project, Ms Markowitz says being part of the film community helped inspire its success.

“From having access to the film equipment, to chatting with the professors…and one of the biggest things is just being able to bounce ideas around with other people.” She says a recent screenwriting class also helped her take a simple idea and “do something magical with it.”

 Deborah Hong's animated short, It's Not Mine, will also be included in this year's festival. 

The animated short It’s Not Mine by Deborah Hong (Artsci’13) is also screening as part of the festival. The film, which was created as part of an animation class taught by Frances Leeming, explores a moment in Ms Hong’s relationship with her critical grandmother. “I really didn’t think it would get accepted to the festival,” she says. “I was really surprised.” Ms Hong, who also worked on Racqueteering, says she plans to attend the festival, but expects watching her own work on the screen will be “nerve-wracking”.

Students Jason Rogers, Charlotte Orzel, Pierre Campbell and Yoon Hee Hwang will also have work screened as part of the KCFF’s local shorts program.

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival was founded in 2001 by Alex Jansen, who was then a film student at Queen’s. The festival’s goal is to develop audiences for Canadian film by promoting, celebrating and showcasing it, as well as by supporting and encouraging Canadian filmmakers and nurturing the local film community.

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival runs from February 28 – March 3, 2013.

Visit the festival’s website for more information.