Freeze Frame and Manitoba Public Insurance
Team Up for Video Contest for Kids and Teens

Freeze Frame, a 12-year-old children’s media arts centre and producer of Winnipeg’s annual International Film Festival for Kids of All Ages, is pleased to announce that it is partnering with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) to present the MPI Road Safety Video Challenge contest for young Manitobans.

The contest, to be held in conjunction with the Freeze Frame film festival March 14-22, 2008, was introduced in 2007 as part of Freeze Frame’s annual Wee Reels and Reel Views video contests. The ground-breaking partnership between Manitoba Public Insurance and Freeze Frame, which sees Manitoba's public auto insurer contribute four cash prizes of $250 and other substantial support, is being repeated following a very successful inaugural year.

“We are delighted to again support Freeze Frame in presenting this competition,” says Shauna Neiser, Road Safety Issue Specialist at Manitoba Public Insurance. “We want to encourage young people to think about safety on our streets and highways, and what better way to do that than with a fun and educational video competition.”

The MPI Road Safety Video Challenge welcomes students in two age categories to make a video in either French or English that illustrates one of the public auto insurer’s chosen themes. The new themes this year are:

Grades 8 & under: Bicycle Safety OR Pedestrian Safety

Grades 9 to 12: Consequences of Impaired Driving OR Views on Aggressive Driving

The deadline for contest entries is Friday, February 22, 2008. Entries will be judged by a jury of local film and video professionals. Winning entrants will be awarded a $250 cash prize and will have their videos screened for the public during the Freeze Frame Festival Awards Gala as well as uploaded on the Freeze Frame website.

To support students wishing to enter this competition, Freeze Frame, in partnership with Manitoba Public Insurance, is offering hands-on workshops on video production to Manitoba schools until February 15, 2008. The Crown corporation’s support of the program means workshops will be offered at a discounted rate and the cost of travel and accommodation for instructors attending schools outside Winnipeg will be paid. Interested teachers and schools should contact education@freezeframeonline.org to book their workshop.

Freeze Frame, through this contest, its annual film festival, and its year-round workshops and classes, provides educational opportunities for children and youth to develop media literacy, critical thinking skills, and the ability to express themselves through film and video—essential attributes in a world where communication through all media is becoming increasingly important and complex. This innovative partnership allows young people to develop these skills at the same time as they reflect on and communicate important messages to the public about road safety.

Freeze Frame is highly regarded on the world stage for excellence and creativity in children’s programming. Freeze Frame will present its 2008 International Film Festival for Kids of All Ages from March 14-22, 2008 at the Globe Theatre, Portage Place Mall, Winnipeg.

For complete contest information and rules, see www.freezeframeonline.org.

For further information or to arrange interviews contact:

Joey Chopra, Communications Coordinator
Freeze Frame
Phone: 204.943-5341
Email: info@freezeframeonline.org