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Festival names short film contest winner

It will be on the big screen tonight
2019-11-09 short film winner MH
Zach Cassidy, left, and the Timmins Film Festival's Paul Charette. Cassidy is the winner of the short film contest at this weekend's festival. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday

A Timmins Film Festival contest is the motivation Zach Cassidy needed to finish a project.

The first-ever festival is being held this weekend at Imagine Cinema 6. At the opening night gala, Cassidy was named the winner of the short film contest. 

Going into the inaugural event, the festival's Paul Charette said they didn't know how many people were going to apply, or if they'd get any entries. 

Two entries were received, with the judging panel choosing Cassidy's film Toyen Stasjon for the top prize. He won $250 and the film will be played on the big screen before tonight's 8 p.m. movie.

Cassidy, who owns a commercial video production business Casa di Media, said this is the short is his first foray into more creative filmmaking. 

“It was written by a friend of mine from Oslo, Norway. We met in India on travels and then we realized we both had an interest in filmmaking, and then the actor in the short is from Australia and the three of us have become close friends,” he said. 

Cassidy did the cinematography and said it's quite an abstract film.

"It’s only six minutes, thank god, so if anybody has difficulty with the subtle subject matter hopefully it will be tolerable. It’s sort of about a dream being blended with reality and not really being able to tell the difference between the two,” he explained.

Before the contest was announced, he said it was sitting in limbo, "and then when I found out about the film festival it was sort of the kick that I needed to see it through to completion."

It never been shown anywhere, and he's excited to have it screened.

“I just read an article by Martin Scorcese and he was talking about the dream of any filmmaker is to have their work shown on a big screen in front of people. That’s what you do it for, and this will be my first experience of that,” he said.

The win has already inspired him to do something for next year's event.

He hopes other local filmmakers are inspired to submit films in 2020 as well.