_ (Via Canadian Film Institute) _ Ottawa, Ontario, 25 July 2017 – The Canadian Film Institute is asking Ottawans to send in their home movies that were shot in the city for a chance to see them on the big screen.

Supported by Ottawa 2017, Ottawa: Cinema Capital is a celebration of the city as the first cinema hub in Canada. Starting with the Ottawa Home Movies Launch event taking place at the end of August, the Canadian Film Institute will present a series of films, made by both amateurs and professionals, that showcase how cinematically creative our city has been and continues to be.

Submitted footage will be part of a mash-up of moving pictures showing us how the people of Ottawa laugh, live and celebrate in this city. We are looking for footage, old and new, of canal skating, protesting, pic-nicking, bird feeding, street partying, monument visiting, wedding partying, and so much more.

If it was filmed in the Ottawa area, we want to see it! From old black and white footage, to recent mobile recordings, submissions are accepted until July 31.

The first step is to fill out the submissions form here . Then, USBs and CDs can be dropped off at Arts Court Reception. We also encourage applications with links to YouTube and other streaming sites.

“To see Ottawa over the years through the lenses of its citizens and their home movies will be an especially exciting component of our ‘Ottawa: Cinema Capital’ project. In addition to these home movies, this project will also showcase Ottawa’s incredible ongoing history as a professional film production centre in Canada. Before Montreal and Toronto and Vancouver, Ottawa was actually the centre of filmmaking in our country, with groundbreaking and internationally renowned films shot, edited, and finished in our city,” says CFI Executive Director, Tom McSorley.

Help us celebrate Ottawa 2017 and to see our community on the big screen. Every submission will be entered into a draw for two Ambassador memberships, which includes free admission to all CFI screenings for a full year. And, footage selected for the screening will earn their maker a complementary CFI package of six tickets. We look forward to seeing Ottawa through your lens!

This project is funded by Ottawa 2017’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Program (stewarded by AOE Arts Council, Ottawa Arts Council and Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa). The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) was incorporated in 1935 as a federally-chartered, non-governmental, non-profit cultural organization. It is the oldest film institution in Canada and the second oldest film institute in the world. More information can be found online at www.cfi-icf.ca .