Public online voting opens ahead of X-HALE Film Festival

Youth groups across the country are calling on the public to lend their support for their film projects ahead of the X-HALE Film Festival 2014. The films, which all examine the issue of smoking, have been created and produced by the youth groups themselves and will be showcased on the big screen at the upcoming Festival.

The X-HALE Film Festival is part of the X-HALE Youth Awards, a project of the Irish Cancer Society which encourages young people to address the issue of smoking in their own communities and encourage their peers not to start smoking.

Over 40 youth groups from across Ireland have made short films which they have entered into the X-HALE film Festival. The young film makers will be in with a chance of winning awards under various categories and getting their hands on up to €3,000 worth of prizes at the event which takes place in the Light House Cinema in Dublin on the 1st of July 2014. In the lead up to the Festival, local youth groups are calling on the people of Ireland to view and vote for their films as they compete for the Online Winner Award and vie for the public’s vote. The other awards will be decided by an independent judging panel comprising of experts from the fields of film, entertainment and health promotion.

The films can be viewed and voted for online here from Friday, June 13th until Friday, June 27th. The entry with the most ‘views’ online will be awarded the ‘Online Winner Award’ and will win €250 worth of digital equipment for their youth group. The X-HALE Film Festival follows months of hard work by the youth groups in developing their films. The youth groups managed all aspects of the projects from acting in the film to editing and producing the finished film.  

Eimear Cotter, Health Promotion Officer at the Irish Cancer Society said: “It is fantastic to see such enthusiasm from the youth groups for the X-HALE Film Festival. The competition has really taken off and at this stage it is difficult to know how the public is going to choose between the film entries. The standard is extremely high this year so we would urge those who have a favourite film to get voting to ensure their chosen film wins! We are delighted to see the issue of smoking being examined in-depth by young people and youth groups nationwide who are asking some tough questions of the tobacco industry and working to help prevent young people in their communities from starting to smoke.”

View the film entries

X-HALE on Facebook