The 2015 Youth Arts Pitch Contest was an initiative of ArtReach Toronto, City of Toronto Cultural Services, and RBC. The aim of the yearly contest is to discover and support some of Toronto’s finest artistic talent, and encourages community participation through the arts! Click here to see more Pitch winner profiles.

Alicia Harris is a filmmaker who recently graduated from Ryerson University, with a BFA in Film Studies and a Certificate in Design for Arts & Entertainment. She went into filmmaking in order to fulfill her need to express herself creatively, and has been in love with the power of the medium ever since. Alicia specializes in directing and production design and loves shooting on film. And with the help of ArtReach, she has created her first fiction short film, Love Stinks, after winning the Creative Enterprise category of the Youth Arts Pitch Contest in 2015.

Her goal as a filmmaker is to make films that positively represent women, especially

young women of colour, in lead roles. As a beginner filmmaker, facing discrimination due to her gender is something that she’s had to deal with, “I anticipate to continue to face the uphill battle of being a woman in a male dominated industry,” Alicia says, “but this grant has not only given me more confidence in myself, but it is allowing me to tell a story about young girls going through puberty – a subject that is rarely explored.”

Love Stinks is a coming-of-age comedy for girls set in the 1980’s that focuses on the life experiences that young women have, but never hear about in the media. Alicia Harris and her producer Rebeca Oritz wanted to put more women behind and in front of the camera, and share themes of female friendship, womanhood, and “un-ladylike” topics.

ArtReach awarded Alicia and Rebeca $5000 to create Love Stinks, allowing her to craft her first high production short film without financial limitations. Through taking part in the pitching workshop, Alicia says she gained valuable skills that she will carry with her throughout her career. Alicia notes, “From the pitching workshop to the contest itself, I felt nothing but support and love from the entire ArtReach team, mentors, fellow finalists, and judges.”

Love Stinks was completed in April of 2016 and was submitted to a wide variety of film festivals in North America where it won Best Film, Best Director, and the People's Choice Award from RUFF in 2016. You can learn more about Love Stinks on their website.

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ALICIAHARRIS,LoveStinksYouthArtsPitchContestWinner,CreativeEnterpriseCategory,2015