Buffer Festival Welcomes New Partnerships with Walmart and Samsung Canada to bring Brands and YouTube Creators Closer Together

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Working with the Festival, these brands will help elevate the importance
of great storytelling through digital channels.

Toronto, ON (September 26, 2018) — Buffer Festival is delighted to announce Walmart Canada and Samsung Canada as 2018 Festival Partners, with both companies stepping forward to champion emerging filmmakers and support the digital community. Since its inception, Buffer Festival has remained committed to not only premiering new and innovative work, but also to providing creators with the necessary tools and connections to navigate future brand synergies.

Walmart received much praise for “The Receipt”, a highly acclaimed project in which the company commissioned four Hollywood directors to create sixty-second films featuring an array of items available in-store. These short films then premiered during the 2017 Academy Awards’ telecast. Following the campaign’s success, Walmart Canada has come on board to support the production of two featured creators during the 2018 Buffer Festival. Walmart will be providing creators with a box of groceries, similar to its online grocery offering, and they will be given full creative freedom to create a narrative short film using all the items provided. These short films will premiere at the Festival and will continued to be shared in the months after the Festival.

“Walmart Canada is proud to partner with creators to make exciting, new content that explores the possibilities inside every box of groceries we deliver,” said Heather Cameron, Senior Director, Creative and PR, Walmart Canada. “This partnership is a perfect way to celebrate our expanding online grocery offering, giving more people access to Walmart’s quality groceries at unbeatable prices.”

To complement the digital stage offered by the Buffer Festival, Samsung Canada has entered into a year-long partnership for the purpose of commissioning and producing 12 short films through the Festival’s creator network to be exclusively shot using Samsung Galaxy mobile phone camera technology. The project will give select YouTubers the opportunity to develop unique work that remains true to their aesthetic and creative choices, but also valuable mentorship, equipment and the opportunity to reach new audiences. Over the next year, creator partners will be invited to screen their films at a number of Buffer Festival related events scheduled to take place at the Samsung Canada experience store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The partnership is but one expression of the brand’s dedication to supporting and empowering the creator community with their leading mobile technology.

“Samsung Canada is proud to empower the creative community with our innovative mobile camera technology,” said Jennifer Safruk, Vice President of Mobile Sales and Product Management, Samsung Canada. “It is through strategic partnerships such as this that we can offer a unique platform and venue for Canadian artists to share their work throughout the year.”

Partnerships like those announced today continue to cement Buffer Festival’s role as an important incubator of trailblazing storytellers, putting the spotlight on relevant and diverse voices while also helping them turn their talents into a sustainable career. “It is an absolute pleasure to be working with Walmart Canada and Samsung Canada, two companies that have proven again and again to be at the vanguard when it comes to supporting the work of emerging filmmakers,” shares Scott Benzie, CEO of Buffer Festival. “It’s extremely rewarding to see the Festival bring together the most acclaimed YouTube creators from around the world with companies that value and respect their work.”

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