The Culture Y 2017 Film Festival provided a platform for audience and filmmaker to come together on the topic of how culture influences personal identity.  ​On April 6th, the Culture Y Film Festival premiered five student films and showcased, with special permission, the short film, Dheu (The Waves), by the award-winning Bengali director Pradipta Bhattacharyya.

A curated panel of judges awarded prizes to three of the filmmakers based on artistic/creative merit, technical merit, and adherence to the Culture Y theme. Audience members actively participated in the awards ceremony by selecting their favourite films for special recognition.

The Culture Y filmmakers were fully supported throughout the film-making process with a workshop, technical help, and other forms of support.

At the workshop, participants discussed their ideas with experts and were instructed by art and film historians in the artistic and thematic aspects of film-making. In addition, the Culture Y organization provided extensive technical assistance throughout the process.  

The novel Culture Y approach resulted in a more enriching reflection on the Film Festival’s theme through direct aesthetic perception on the part of the audience.  The film-makers experienced art’s power to illuminate the complex facets of an abstract idea.