Ever since high school, Moiz Karim has been fascinated with movies.
When he was in Grade 10, Karim and his friends would often make random videos — ranging from scary to funny — on a hand held camera, then post them on social media sites just for fun.
“I always connected with movies,” said the 21-year-old co-founder of the Shoreline Film Festival. “I could watch a movie and completely zone out, see something else, be somewhere else and it was a good feeling so I just kept it going from there.”
Being such a film enthusiast, Karim was thinking about going into digital media once he graduated from his Surrey, B.C. high school. But he chose to keep it as a hobby and wound up studying political science at the University of Victoria instead.
At Karim's high school one year, a student film festival was held that involved the surrounding district. When he moved to Victoria, Karim wanted to do the same thing, but didn't have the time or motivation until now.
Karim has compiled a team of five people (along with co-founders Tahir Chatur and Matt Power) to help create the Shoreline Film Festival, which gives amateur student filmmakers the opportunity to present their work to a live audience. The overall mission is to create awareness of all the hidden talent within the community.
The films submitted for the festival can't exceed 10 minutes and have a list of guidelines, such as no excessive gore, profanity or violence. The top seven to eight films will be chosen for a year-end gala, where they will be screened live and judged in three categories — best overall short film, best screenplay and best cinematography.
As for the content, Karim said anything goes.
“We're looking for pretty much anything and I think that's the cool part,” said Karim. “You can talk to the camera for six minutes, you can be filming your skateboard tricks, it can be a silent film, it can be an action film, comedy — there's no real limits. It's just you and the creative process and whatever that process brings you.”
The Shoreline Film Festival was launched in October and the deadline for submissions is March 1.
The year-end gala will feature live performances, along with an art auction where 50 per cent of the proceeds go to charity. For more information and a full list of guidelines visit shoreline.com.