Fifth annual celebration of Canadian short film talent

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada is pleased to announce the finalists of the fifth annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival. Categories include Best Short Film, Achievement in Animation, Achievement in Direction, and Achievement in Cinematography. The Air Canada enRoute Film Festival celebrates young emerging Canadian film talent from across the country by showcasing their work on Air Canada flights.

The 2011 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival finalists are:

• Miles Jay and Orlee-Rose Strauss for Blink
• Timothy Chan for A Starry Night
• Ashley McKenzie and Nelson MacDonald for Rhonda's Party

The winner of the Best Short Film Award will receive a cash prize of $5,000 courtesy of Cineplex Entertainment, plus an all-inclusive Air Canada trip for two to the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Achievement Award winners will also be going to the festival in France courtesy of Air Canada.

A free public screening of the nominated short films will take place on Thursday, November 10 in Cinema 7 at Scotiabank Theatre (259 Richmond St. W., Toronto) from 7 to 8 p.m. An exclusive awards celebration will take place immediately after at the Neubacher Shor Gallery (5 Brock Ave., Toronto) catered by Eatertainment and hosted by award winning film critic Mohit Rajhans. Jury members expected to attend the awards celebration include actors Emanuelle Chiriqui and Molly Parker, directors Atom Egoyan and Jean-Marc Vallée, and producer Don Carmody.

Millions of Air Canada passengers will be able to view the selected short films on their personal entertainment system with 8.9-inch wide digital in-seat monitors and touch-screen controls offering over 300 hours of audio and video on demand programming at every seat. For news on the festival and film profiles, please visit www.enroutefilm.com.

Twitter: @enRouteOnline and @AirCanada
Facebook: enRoute magazine and Air Canada
Website: www.enroutefilm.com
enRoute Festival Images on Flickr: rockitpromo

About Air Canada's enRoute Magazine:
Air Canada's enRoute Magazine is published 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:
In 2011, Air Canada was ranked "Best International Airline in North America," the second consecutive year Air Canada has achieved top honours in the annual worldwide survey of 18.8 million air travelers conducted by Skytrax.

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international full-service airline providing scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo from 60 communities large and small across Canada to more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 31 million customers annually.  Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,172 airports in 181 countries.    Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.

For more information on Air Canada visit aircanada.com and follow @AirCanada on Twitter and Facebook.

Image with caption: "Blink (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111117_C9196_PHOTO_EN_6814.jpg

Image with caption: "A Starry Night (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111117_C9196_PHOTO_EN_6815.jpg

Image with caption: "Rhonda's Party (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111117_C9196_PHOTO_EN_6816.jpg