The Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth (R2R) is an annual, competitive, international event presented by Reel to Real: A Celebration of Moving Images for Youth Society, a non-profit media arts and education society dedicated to showing the best in culturally diverse, authentic programming for children and youth.

R2R seeks films that are imaginative, evocative, innovative, inspiring and entertaining. We will accept feature-length dramas, shorts, documentaries, and animated films and videos.

Awards & Prizes

An adult jury, comprised of filmmakers, critics, and educators, gives out two awards: the Edith Lando Peace Prize, a $500 (CND) cash award, and an award for Best Feature.

The Festival has two youth Juries, which award prizes for: Best Picture (ages 9 and up) and Best Picture (ages 13 and up), Most Inspirational Film (ages 9 and up), Most Inspirational Film (ages 13 and up), Most Innovative Film (ages 9 and up), Most Innovative Film (ages 13 and up), and the National Film Board of Canada Award for Best Animated Film (for all ages).

Rules & Terms

To be eligible for inclusion in the R2R competitive program, Entries must be completed no earlier than January 1, 2019. All films whose original language is not English or French must be subtitled or dubbed in English or French. Entries may be submitted electronically or on DVD, and accompanied by a completed entry form and entry fee.

Criteria for selection
* Film content should be creative and demonstrate artistic and technical mastery.
* Content should speak to youth of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
* The stories should be culturally authentic, timely, and of universal appeal.

Criteria for non-acceptance of films into the festival include:
* Excessive or gratuitous violence, nudity, or profanity.
* Content that advocates and supports racial, cultural, religious, or gender bias.

Submissions may be Fiction, Documentary, Animation of any length. All entries submitted must be suitable for children and youth ages 19 and under. We accept youth-made film submissions.

If selected for R2R, feature exhibition prints may be presented in DCP and all shorts will be compiled from digital files.

Filmmakers will be notified of the selection committee’s final decisions by Friday, January 8th, 2021. Entrant is responsible for shipping the DCP or projection video to R2R, including payment of shipping, insurance and customs fees, unless other arrangements have been made. R2R is responsible for the return shipping.

Entrant grants R2R the right to use all or part of the Entry in any medium for promotional purposes; to use stills, biographical material, names and likenesses from the Entry for promotional purposes; to provide DVD copies of the Entry to journalists for review; to show the Entry at press screenings; and to exhibit the Entry one or multiple times during the R2R 2021 festival. R2R will use our best efforts to ensure correct title and credits are listed on festival materials but shall not be held liable for inadvertent errors and omissions.