Young people interested in film and film criticism are being given an exciting opportunity to get a headstart in the industry.

Cornwall Film Festival is running The Young People's Jury programme for its second year for young people, aged 16-25.

The programme is being run online this year, so is fully accessible, and will include masterclasses with industry professionals, full back stage access to this year's International Shorts selection, and will culminate in judging and awarding The Young People's Jury award at the group's prestigious awards event.

The Young People’s Jury Programme seeks to nurture visual literacy, criticism and decision-making skills amongst the voices of tomorrow.

In this programme, participants will be watching all the films programmed as part of the 2020 International Short Film Competition, working together to reach a final decision.

The Young Jurors will also attend a curation of workshops and masterclasses by industry practitioners to help further their understanding and nurture their appreciation for cinema.

Tara Judah and Amanda White will be guest speakers at this year’s programme. Tara is a film critic and curator, writer, video essayist and cinema producer with a string of credits to her name, including BFI, Watershed, 20thCentury Flicks, Sight & Sound, BBC World Service, Girls on Film Festival.

Amanda is a writer and creative practitioner who worked as a literary agent in London before moving to Cornwall. Her work includes short films with director Andrew Gilman, two collections of poetry, children’s books, and travel guides.

She also runs creative writing workshops and arts programmes for health, community, corporate and healthcare settings. At the start of lockdown, she set up The Daily Haiku Facebook group which now has over 2,600 members.

The programme will culminate with the Young Jurors awarding the Young People's Jury night. In this year’s run of the programme, there will be an added focus on criticism within film, with each Young Juror contributing an article towards the festival blog.

Due to the current Covid-19 situation, most of the programme will be delivered via online platforms to ensure the safety of all participants, improving accessibility for everyone by eliminating travel costs.

Closing date is October 7, 2020.

Sign up now at bit.ly/ypjp20-form, while more information can be found at www.facebook.com/Cornwallfilmfestival