MONTREAL, Oct. 17, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - The Air Canada enRoute Film Festival is pleased to announce their first-ever film industry panel, to be held November 4, 2013, at the Centre Phi in Montreal. Aimed at film students, emerging filmmakers and the media, the discussion will focus on the complex world of festivals and film markets, the distribution of short works and methods of obtaining financing for a film based on the success of a first short. The panel discussion will start at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a screening of the top Air Canada enRoute Film Festival films at 7:30 p.m. and a networking cocktail at 9 p.m., to continue the conversation.

"In the spirit of supporting our young filmmakers to take flight, we want to offer them a unique opportunity for exchange and dialogue with industry mentors that can help them take their art to the next level," says Éric Lauzon, Manager, In-Flight Entertainment, Air Canada.

A Festival that soars
For the 7th edition of the Air Canada enRoute Film Festival, the nominated films were once again presented on board Air Canada flights starting in August, 2013. Again this year, Quebec talent is prominently featured, with films by Émilie Gauthier (Imparfaite), Eileen Peng (Godfather Death), Mariane Laporte and Roland Cody Larocque (Beau comme dans les films) and Samuel Labarre (Exsilium). The winners will be selected by a jury composed of well-known film industry personalities, including Michael McGowan, Martin Katz and Quebecers Suzanne Clément and Chloé Robichaud in the following categories: Best Short Film, Achievement in Animation, Achievement in Direction and Achievement in Cinematography. The public, invited to vote since the start of the Festival, will also crown the winner of the People's Choice Award for their favourite short film. All winners will be announced during an awards ceremony in Toronto on November 6, 2013.

The finalists in the 2013 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival are:

Godfather Death (Eileen Peng), Montreal
Just As I Remember (Andrew Moir), Toronto
Walk the Moon (Roman Tchjen and Vaishni Majoomdar), Toronto
The Worst Day Ever (Sophie Jarvis and Kane Stewart), Vancouver

High-flying awards
The winner of the Best Short Film Award will receive a cash prize of $5,000, courtesy of Cineplex Entertainment. In addition, all winners will receive an all-inclusive trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, courtesy of Air Canada. The winner of the People's Choice Award will also receive a trip for two to a Canadian destination of their choice, courtesy of Air Canada.

Industry experts supporting emerging talent
In addition to providing much-needed exposure, the Festival aims to give emerging Canadian filmmakers the tools to take their films to new heights and open the discussion on opportunities in the international film industry. It is with this in mind that Canadian film industry representatives, including filmmakers, programmers and distributors, are invited to attend this special event on November 4th. These men and women will share their vast experience in short films with attendees and give advice to young filmmakers who are ready to take the next step.

For more information on the Festival and on the nominated films, please visit the Festival website at www.enroutefilm.com.

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About Air Canada's enRoute In Flight Entertainment :
Air Canada's enRoute In Flight Entertainment is programmed by Spafax, one of the world's leading custom publishers and providers of in-flight media, with offices in eight cities around the world. Spafax is a part of the specialist communications division of WPP. http://enroute.aircanada.com/

About Air Canada:
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 67 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,328 destinations in 195 countries.  Air Canada rewards its most loyal customers through its top tier recognition program, Altitude, that offers frequent flyers a range of priority travel services, lounge access and upgrades to Executive Class, complementing their membership in Aeroplan, Canada's premier loyalty program, which provides numerous ways to earn and redeem Aeroplan Miles with over 150 travel and retail partners.

Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. In 2013, Air Canada was ranked for a fourth consecutive year "Best Airline in North America" in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by Skytrax.  According to the 2013 Canadian Business Travel Survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, Air Canada was the preferred airline for more than 80 percent of frequent business travellers in Canada.  In 2012, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," the readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America," and the readers of Premier Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for Business Class Service," "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best Flight Attendants in North America."  For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

SOURCE Air Canada