A scene from Adam Pesapane's animated short WESTERN SPAGHETTI
Some of the most talented moviemakers began their film careers with a short film and every year, the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF)will showcase and award undiscovered talent. This year, HIFF features an impressive collection of 77 short films from directors across the globe, containing diverse genres and subject matter and includes a strong showing from talented local filmmakers.
Over 170 films from 36 different countries will be featured at this year’s festival. HIFF’s 2009 program is being held at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters from October 15-25.
14 year old Gabriel Colomb first prize winner of Trop Jr Film and runners up Director Andrew Mills (right) and actor Sean Ruse for Big Bad Baz
Trop Jr - the world’s largest short film festival for kids, by kids - is calling for entries
today. Open to children aged 15 years and younger, it’s a great way for kids to get
involved in the creative process of filmmaking.
Entry to Trop Jr is free and can be made online at www.tropjr.com.au. All films in
Trop Jr must include a Trop Jr Signature Item (TSI), which for 2010 is DOT. Entries
close on Thursday 7 January 2010.
Air Canada announced the finalists in the 3rd Annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival. A free public screening of the nominated short films will take place on Tuesday, October 20 at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto, followed by an invite-only awards celebration hosted by The Drake Hotel. The nominees were selected from over 300 entries submitted to enRoute from emerging filmmakers from across the country.
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival announced earlier this week the jury prizes in shorts filmmaking based on outstanding achievement and merit. The Sundance Film Festival runs January 15-25, 2009 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Full awards will be announced the evening of January 24th at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony at the Park City Racquet Club. Actress Jane Lynch will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
The 2009 Short Film jurors are Gerardo Naranjo (Director/Writer/Producer: Voy a explotar, Malachance, Perro Negro); Lou Taylor Pucci (Actor: Thumbsucker); and Sharon Swart (Variety).
The Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking was awarded to Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking was given to Lies, directed by Jonas Odell. The Shorts Jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to The attack of the robots from Nebula-5, directed by Chema Garcia Ibarra; Protect You + Me, directed by Brady Corbet; Western Spaghetti, directed by PES; Jerrycan, directed by Julius Avery; Love You More, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, I Live in the Woods, directed by Max Winston, Omelette, directed by Nadejda Koseva; and Treevenge, directed by Jason Eisener.
Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking
Short Term 12 (Director: Destin Daniel Cretton)-A film about kids and the grown-ups who hit them.
Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking
Lies/Sweden (Director: Jonas Odell)-Three perfectly true stories about lying. In three episodes based on documentary interviews we meet the burglar who, when found out, claims to be a moonlighting accountant, the boy who finds himself lying and confessing to a crime he didn’t commit and the woman whose whole life has been a chain of lies.
Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking
The attack of the robots from Nebula-5/Spain (Director: Chema García Ibarra)-”Almost” everybody is going to die very soon.
I Live In The Woods (Director: Max Winston)-A Woodsman’s fast-paced journey, fueled by happiness, slaughter, and a confrontation with America’s God.
Jerrycan/Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Julius Avery)-While attending a party, five bored kids decide to blow something up. A childhood game seals the fate of Nathan, who risks everything after he is bullied, and is forced to make a life and death decision.
Love You More/UK (Director: Sam Taylor-Wood; Screenwriter: Patrick Marber)-Two teenagers are drawn together by the Buzzcocks’ single ‘Love You More’ during the summer of 1978.
Omelette/Bulgaria (Director: Nadejda Koseva; Screenwriter: Georgi Gospodinov)-While a woman makes an omelette we learn how difficult it is to make ends meet.
Protect You + Me (Director: Brady Corbet)-A reminder of a long-forgotten event, combined with a challenging situation, provokes a man to extreme action.
Treevenge/Canada (Director: Jason Eisener; Screenwriter: Rob Cotterill)-Sometimes Christmas is worth crying over.
Western Spaghetti (Director: PES)-Everyday objects become delicious ingredients as we learn how to cook spaghetti through stop-motion.
This year the Festival’s Short Film Program was comprised of a record 96 short films from 5,632 submissions, from U.S. and international filmmakers. Submissions grew by 10% over last year. Due to the strong submissions this year, the Shorts Program was expanded to accommodate the quality of work submitted. The 2009 award winners and honorable mentions exemplify Sundance’s commitment to discovering new talent and accomplished storytelling and filmmaking.
168 is a faith-based, worldwide competition, in which teams make a short film in 168 hours (1 week). Films premiere at the 168 Film Festival April 3-4, 2009 in Los Angeles. Since 2003, 168 Film Project participants from 20 countries have made more than 300 films.
In early February, the filmmaking teams will draw a random scripture and shoot and edit a short film in one week that will premiere at the 168 Film Festival April 3-4. The venue for the first night is to be announced and the festival will be held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on April 4. The deadline to sign up for U.S. teams is Feb. 7 and verses will be assigned on Feb. 10.
Filming begins for U.S. teams on Feb. 19, except for California teams who start Feb. 20. [via]
Winners of the first annual Ft. Yachtie-Da International Film Festival in November, sponsored by Crew Unlimited and held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at Cinema Paradiso, home of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
The films were no more than five minutes in length and ranged from animation to narrative.
The winner of the Best Overall film, was a look at how “captains can demand more from their crew” on a humorous take-off of the “60 Minutes” television news program
The films can be viewed online at Crew Unlimited, who along with CU Yacht Charters plan to hold the event next year after the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show.
Eighty-five films from 13 countries -France, Israel, Estonia, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Canada, Britain, Australia, Sweden, Chile, Austria and Jordan- will be screened during the festival.
For his short film “13th Amendment,” Mike Dennis of Philadelphia, Pa., followed his 90-year-old great-great-grandmother on her trek to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary. The film, depicting the lifelong voter’s first opportunity to cast a vote on behalf of a black man for U.S. president, took the Grand Jury Award at the iReport Film Festival, CNN’s first user-generated short film competition.
In comments about “13th Amendment,” film reviewer Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said: “In less than five minutes, Mike Dennis tells a complete story with an inspirational message. I was impressed by all the entries, and I’m sure I’ll see many of these names on feature-length films and documentaries in the years to come.”
Following the theme “Campaign 2008,” the iReport Film Festival provided a platform for filmmakers to document this year’s presidential campaign from their personal vantage point, whether they were volunteering for a campaign or had compelling stories about this election they wanted to document creatively. This short film can be found at http://www.iReport.com/docs/DOC-90261.
The first annual Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles (DFFLA) concluded its final day on Sunday with “Sustainable L.A.,” an all-day, free-to-the-public program devoted to urban ecology in the heart of city’s Bunker Hill business district that included an organic farmer’s market, panel discussions about urban “green’ topics, and the screening of a variety of related documentary films.
The day-long activities continued into the evening with the Los Angeles premiere screening of “Flow,” a documentary feature by director Irena Salina, that details the precarious future of the world’s rapidly diminishing supply of safe fresh water. The film was screened on Grand Avenue with the famous Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall serving as a dramatic backdrop.
Preceding the Closing Night film was the presentation of filmmaker awards. The winners were:
Best Short Film - “A Day’s Work” by Rajeev Dassani
Honorable Mentions “DJ:LA” by Jerry Chan; “Some of an Equation” by Burke Roberts
Programming Director’s Prize for a Short Film: “I Fucking Hate You” by Zak Forsman
Best Director for a Short Film: “Near” by Tom Gulager
Best Short Film Documentary: “Isis Avenue” by Mr. Paul Marchand
Best Downtown LA Short Film: “Home.” by Emily-Rose Wagner
Best Latino-American Short Film: “El Primo” by Nick Oceano
Best Experimental Short Film: “3 Stories About Evil” by Michael Frost
Special Jury Prize: “Just the Worst” by Marshall Cook for Best Ensemble Acting in a Short Film
Best Feature Film: Strength and Honour by Mark Mahon
Best Performance in a Feature: Michael Madsen for Strength and Honour
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The 2009 
Winners of the first annual 
