The Terrace World Community Film Festival is three weeks away and the excitement among the volunteers is palpable as we start to put up posters and really push getting the word out to the community.

Being a non-profit organization, it is tough to get as much promotion as possible - for free!  We've done this by taking advantage of some traditional forms of advertising, poster, word-of-mouth and local event calendar listings; but have also included setting up a Facebook event page.  It seems that despite technological advances that seem to increase our interconnectedness, sometimes "old-school" forms of event advertising are still the way to go.

We hope that those who attended the film festival last year will have enjoyed the event and return again this year, as well as tell their friends and family.  Although September is a busy month for a lot of families with kids going back to school, we've picked a date later in the month hoping that schedules are in full swing and people have the opportunity and time to catch the event.

The films being screened are meant to be challenging, thought-provoking and inspiring.  Although in the past the audience has been made up of adults, the films are mostly rated "General" and some with "Parental Guidance" for scenes of violence and are suitable for children depending on the comfort level of the parent.  Because they deal with real and sometimes difficult subject matter, it can be helpful to talk with children about the content and message of the films.  A lot of times these global issues really resonate with young people and they want to act and do something about it to make a positive change.

Although young people are sometimes the most idealistic of us, we anticipate that a lot of people - no matter their age, will come away feeling more informed and inspired to create a positive impact on society in their communities at home and at large.

We hope that the festival will be a welcoming environment for people of all ages and look forward to seeing you soon in a theater seat over the September 17-19 weekend.

Our volunteer group has had two planning meetings so far and it's hard not to get excited as we look forward to the event in the fall.  Up to this point, selecting which films to screen in Terrace has been the hardest part.  The selection of the fifteen films to be shown was determined by a vote.  It was certainly sad to see some of the titles drop off the list.

The films that made the final cut will be compelling, eye-opening and bound to generate some conversation after viewing.  We are discussing the idea of having "break out sessions" or facilitated talks after the films to encourage some meaningful dialogue in our community on the topics each film address.

We have also decided to take the "Social Justice Bazaar" held during the 2009 event and re-named it the "Fair Trade Fair".  This event will occur at the same time as the film festival, on Saturday, and in conjunction with the films that are likely to have the biggest draw.  These powerful films will undoubtebly motivate some people to take action and work for change locally and globally.  The vision of the Fair Trade Fair is to link interested folks with local service clubs, not-for-profit organizations, and businesses that are working for positive environmental, social, economic and cultural change in the work that they do for our region as well as internationally.

Circle the September 17-19th on your calendar and join us for a weekend of inspiring, independent film.  Keep an eye on this blog for updates and news about the festival and films to be shown.

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