PYFF 2025
The Pope Youth Film Festival (PYFF) is a low-pressure opportunity for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians between the ages of 12 and 19 to make an original short film and share it with the local filmmaking community.
Now in its fourth year, the Newfoundland and Labrador High School Short Film Fest was rebranded in 2023 as the Pope Youth Film Festival in dedication of its late founder Paul L Pope. Paul was a leading force behind the success of the now-booming film and television industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
PYFF’s goal is to encourage aspiring young filmmakers to create stories, express themselves, and convey powerful messages and themes through the art of filmmaking. PYFF is about giving a platform to emerging young filmmakers, regardless of the limited tools and equipment in their possession.
Eligible filmmakers are encouraged to register for PYFF 2025 and submit their short film (5 minutes or less) in its respective category (Comedy, Horror, Drama, or Documentary) to PYFF by February 28th.
Both individual and group submissions are encouraged. However, each film may only be submitted once.
Submissions will be judged by a committee of volunteer filmmakers from Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to industry recognition, specialized awards will be distributed to highlight stand-out work for individual films. Select films will be featured on the big screen at The Majestic Theatre in downtown St. John’s on the evening of Wednesday, March 12th, 7 - 9 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
PYFF seeks to celebrate a diversity of views. PYFF encourages people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and backgrounds to participate.
For more on the ins and outs of filmmaking, check out our socials!
FILM CATEGORIES & JUDGES
Comedy – NIK SEXTON
Nik Sexton is a Canadian director who started his career making humorous YouTube videos. Those videos paved the way for his first feature film “How To Be Deadly” (2014), which won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Feature Film at the 16th Canadian Comedy Awards in 2015. His second feature film “SKEET” (2024) is still actively floating around the festival circuit and has already won several awards.
Horror – JUSTIN “BUDDHA” WISEMAN
Justin “Buddha” Wiseman is a member of the Newfoundland-based horror group Grind Mind. Since 2017, Buddha and his friends have been making their mark on the film industry with monthly horror short films, their annual horror-centric film festival Fogfest, a web-series, a docu series on FibeTV1, and so much more gory greatness. Buddha is a jack of all trades, having dabbled in directing, writing, acting, makeup and more. His favorite part of horror filmmaking is making his projects jump to life with vivid and realistic special effects.
Drama – JENN BROWN & ERIN WHITNEY
As the Executive Director and Director of Operations for the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJWIFF), Jenn Brown and Erin Whitney highlight the films made by incredible female filmmakers every year. As co-judges for our drama category, they will be shining a spotlight on the amazing storytelling capabilities of the young filmmaker’s who have submitted to this year’s Pope Youth Film Festival.
Documentary – TAMARA SEGURA
Tamara Segura is an internationally acclaimed director for her personal documentary “Seguridad” (2024). She is also known for writing and directing the
films “D Sharp and C Suspended” (2018) and “Song for Cuba” (2014). She is currently sharing her knowledge and passion for filmmaking as an instructor at the Paul L Pope Centre for TV & Film with the College of the North Atlantic.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Best Art Director
Best Cinematography
Best Costumes
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Sound
Best Writer
UPCOMING DATES
February 1st
Submissions Opened
12:00 AM
Feburary 28th
Submission Deadline
11:59 PM
March 12th
Screening at The Majestic Theatre
Doors open 6:30 PM
Screening 7 - 9 PM