The Charlie Film Festival is a high school film competition designed to foster creativity and innovation in our community's youth.
Now in its amazing 51st year as a film celebration from the highschools of Waterloo County, this annual festival is the culmination of months of scripting, shooting and editing by highschool filmmakers. The collection of films is fun, touching and revealing. The viewer gets deep inside the exploring, inhibited, maturing and growing mind of the highschool filmmaker. Often there are startling results in this collection of prize winners! Admission is by a suggested donation of $10. Everyone is Welcome! Come out and support your school!
The Charlie Awards Film Festival was founded by Teacher, Wayne McNanny in 1972 and is possibly the oldest student film festival in Canada. The Charlie Awards is a film competition for high school students in the KW region that helps students to discover their creative potential, build their confidence, develop leadership skills, and work collaboratively in teams. Students film everywhere and anywhere, developing a variety of story lines and plots to create dynamic, innovative productions. At the school site the student's films are assessed by a panel of judges. Two films from each school are submitted, previewed by judges and premiered to the public. Every year for over 30 years, the films have been adjudicated and showcased at the Original Princess Cinema.
The Charlies are judged by media professionals who donate their time to work with the best of the K-W region's young film makers. They help the students improve their filmmaking abilities; they provide editing and production advice and consult on solutions to problems.