The Smith Sound Film Festival was formed in 2017. We're located in Clarenville, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. We're a very small festival which operates in the George's Brook-Milton Community Cultural House our neighboring community. We're also situated on the East Coast of Newfoundland one of our prime tourist destinations in summer taking in historic Trinity and Bonavista visitation points. If you are into winter sports, our communities have some nice trails for the outdoor adventurer. In summer, kayaking is a must along the shores of Random and Smith Sounds.
Our festival's theme since its inception is works rarely seen in recent years or new and upcoming films outside of mainstream festivals. Our main genres include drama, comedy, documentary and the experimental filmmaking craft. This year we are accepting works by Canadian filmmakers with given themes of isolation and world change and human kindness.
Update regarding COVID-19 (August 10, 2020):
We regret to inform that the festival has been cancelled for this September. Due to the unfolding circumstances around COVID-19 we felt it was best to cancel until a future date. Smith Sound is about in person screenings in a physical venue. The virtual option would not have worked for us given our limited resources. Please check back in future and hopefully we'll see your fabulous submissions next year.
Update regarding COVID-19 (July 26, 2020):
We plan to continue with the festival this year unless the situation with COVID-19 changes drastically by end of August. In accordance with the provincial government's guidelines for indoor entertainment venues under Alert Level II, we are limited to 50 percent normal capacity and also the 2 metre rule must be followed for both staff and patrons. As per current regulations from NL Public Health, anyone outside of the Atlantic province bubble visiting Newfoundland and Labrador are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival. So if you plan to attend the festival and reside outside of Atlantic Canada, please note you need to self-isolate for 14 days prior to before you can attend. Signage will be posted reminding attendees of proper physical distancing and proper hand hygiene. Avoid entering the facility if symptomatic and to leave immediately if symptoms develop.
We're an audience driven film festival awarding prizes based on the highest number of votes. The Smith Sound Silver Spike Award is the top honours. This year we are also introducing the Martin Bourne Award for the film that best captures the spirit of innovation and cinema-verite representing people in day to day life activities. Martin Bourne was a local Clarenville filmmaker who lived here in the 1950s.