TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada is pleased to announce the finalists of the sixth annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival. Awards will be offered in categories including Best Short Film, Achievement in Documentary, Achievement in Direction and Achievement in Cinematography.

The 2012 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival finalists are:

• Alexander Carson for We Refuse to Be Cold
• Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas for Noeud papillon
• Danielle Sahota and Davina Rimmer for We Blinded the Sun
• Justin Friesen for Let's Make Lemonade

The winner of the Best Short Film Award will receive a cash prize of $5,000, courtesy of Cineplex Entertainment, plus an all-inclusive Air Canada trip for two to the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Achievement Award winners will also attend the festival in France, courtesy of Air Canada.

Free public screenings of the top six films will take place Wednesday, November 7 at 7 p.m. (EST and PST) in Toronto at Varsity Theatre (55 Bloor St. W.), in Vancouver at the Scotiabank Theatre (900 Burrard St.) and in Montreal at the Quartier Latin (350 rue Emery). An invitation-only awards celebration catered by Eatertainment at Panorama Lounge (55 Bloor Street W., 51^st floor) will follow the Toronto screening.

Winners were selected by a jury of industry experts including Jay Baruchel, actor (How to Train Your Dragon), Niv Fichman, producer (Passchendaele), Mary Harron, director (American Psycho), Alison Pill, actor (The Newsroom), Gordon Pinsent, actor (Away From Her), Callum Keith Rennie, actor (The Killing), Saul Rubinek, actor (Barney's Version), Jacob Tierney, director (The Trotsky), and Karine Vanasse, actor (Polytechnique). Jury members expected to attend the awards celebration include actors Karine Vanasse and Saul Rubinek, director Jacob Tierney and producer Niv Fichman.

This year, viewers will vote for their favourite film to determine the winner of the inaugural People's Choice Award. Voting will run from Thursday, November 1 to Wednesday, November 7 on enRoutefilm.com. The winner will be announced live at the awards celebration in Toronto on November 7. The winner will receive an Air Canada flight for two to a North American destination of their choice.

From August to December 2012, millions of Air Canada passengers can view all of the selected short films on their personal entertainment system with 8.9-inch wide digital in-seat monitors with touch-screen controls offering more than 600 hours of digital movies, television and music entertainment, available on demand at the touch of a finger.

For news on the Air Canada enRoute Film Festival and film profiles:

Website: http://www.enRoutefilm.com
Twitter: @enroutemag, @AirCanada, #EFF2012
Facebook: enRoute magazine and Air Canada
Flickr:   rockitpromo (for 2011 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival images)

About Air Canada's enRoute:
Air Canada's enRoute magazine and in-flight entertainment are powered by Spafax, one of the world's leading custom publishers and providers of in-flight media, with offices in eight cities around the world. Spafax is a part of the specialist communications division of WPP. http://enroute.aircanada.com/

About Air Canada:
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,356 destinations in 193 countries. Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.

In 2012, Air Canada was ranked for a third consecutive year Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.  In 2011, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," and readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America." In the annual Ipsos Reid Business Traveller Survey, Air Canada was named "Canada's Favourite Airline for Business Travel." Air Canada was preferred by 73 per cent of Canadian business travellers surveyed for 2011, the third consecutive year of improvement in Air Canada's ratings in the national survey. http://www.aircanada.com/

Image with caption: "2012 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19469.jpg

Image with caption: "Alexander Carson for We Refuse to be Cold (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19464.jpg

Image with caption: "Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas for Noeud papillon (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19495.jpg

Image with caption: "Danielle Sahota and Davina Rimmer for We Blinded the Sun (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19457.jpg

Image with caption: "Justin Friesen for Let's Make Lemonade (CNW Group/AIR CANADA)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19465.jpg

Video with caption: "Video: Alexander Carson for We Refuse to be Cold". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20121017_C7585_VIDEO_EN_19492.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19492.jpg&clientName=AIR%20CANADA&caption=Video%3A%20Alexander%20Carson%20for%20We%20Refuse%20to%20be%20Cold&title=AIR%20CANADA%20%2D%20Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists&headline=Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists

Video with caption: "Video: Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas for Noeud papillon". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20121017_C7585_VIDEO_EN_19453.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19453.jpg&clientName=AIR%20CANADA&caption=Video%3A%20Fernand%2DPhilippe%20Morin%2DVargas%20for%20Noeud%20papillon&title=AIR%20CANADA%20%2D%20Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists&headline=Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists

Video with caption: "Video: Danielle Sahota and Davina Rimmer for We Blinded The Sun". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20121017_C7585_VIDEO_EN_19454.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20121017_C7585_PHOTO_EN_19454.jpg&clientName=AIR%20CANADA&caption=Video%3A%20Danielle%20Sahota%20and%20Davina%20Rimmer%20for%20We%20Blinded%20The%20Sun&title=AIR%20CANADA%20%2D%20Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists&headline=Air%20Canada%20enRoute%20Film%20Festival%20reveals%202012%20finalists

Video with caption: "Video: Justin Friesen for Let's Make Lemonade". Video available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlRb-RtTs1A

SOURCE: AIR CANADA