New journal: “Short Film Studies”

/  March 8, 2010

British academic publisher Intellect (Bristol, UK) is currently at work on a new journal dedicated to short film. “Short Film Studies” aims to promote better understanding of the short form by analysing individual films from a variety of perspectives. In every issue, two to three short films will be examined in detail in several expert articles. The journal will also feature interviews with the films’ directors, illustrations of each shot and a link allowing readers to watch the film on the Internet.

The journal’s editor is Richard Raskin, who teaches at the University of Aarhus in Denmark and previously published the magazine p.o.v., based on a similar concept. The last issue of p.o.v. came out in December, to be replaced by the new journal.

For the first issue of “Short Film Studies” Raskin is now inviting authors to contribute articles. The following films have been chosen for study: “The War is Over” by Nina Mimica (I), “Undressing My Mother” by Ken Wardrop (Ireland) and “Village/Old Man” by Miles Goodall (F/ZA). Those who wish to participate are asked to send a brief outline of their planned paper to Richard Raskin. The deadline for the completed article is 15 April 2010. “Short Film Studies” will be published twice yearly.

Publisher’s URL: Intellect Books http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal
Editor’s contact address: raskin(at)imv.au.dk

Swedish Glimz AB closes down pay-per-view platform for short film

/  March 8, 2010

One of the first professional pay-per-view platforms for short film, the Swedish Glimz.net, is being withdrawn from the Web. From now on, its organizers will be acting exclusively as aggregators for the sale of short films.

Glimz.net was founded by filmmaker Johan A. Larsson and IT specialist Palle Torsson as a way of offering high-quality short films on the Internet using the pay-per-view system. The online platform was launched in 2003 with a selection of films chosen primarily from the catalogue of Folkets Bio. Later, many additional partners joined in – including some from abroad starting in 2005. Unlike comparable platforms, Glimz.net offered not only fiction, animation and entertainment, but also children’s, documentary and avant-garde films.

In recent years, Glimz AB began selling films through classical channels in parallel with its online offerings. This activity will now become the company’s core business and the pay-per-view webpages suspended. In their place, Glimz.net offers producers and purchasers the opportunity to research the films in its portfolio and view them free of charge in a password-protected section of the website.

The collection in the meantime boasts more than 800 titles from 57 countries, which Glimz AB supplies as aggregator for other online platforms as well as for traditional channels and media. Licences for some of the films, more precisely for those in the programme Vision IN/OUT released and curated by Glimz and Filmkontakt Nord (see also our Report) have been sold to the company Headweb, which now offers these on its own video-on-demand platform Kortfilmer.nu (Swedish for: shortfilm.now).

URL: http://www.glimz.net

Bitfilm launches crowd production of an episodic film on the theme of money

/  March 8, 2010

Hamburg’s Bitfilm Festival is set to reinvent itself in 2010: instead of holding an online festival for digital films, the organizers are experimenting with the idea of the worldwide crowd production of an episodic film on the topic on money. What’s special about the project is the mutual participation of filmmakers, audience and sponsors from all over the world in every phase of the production, to culminate in a cinema feature titled “Money & Me”.

To start off, filmmakers will be invited to submit their own work on the selected theme in the documentary, fiction or animated categories, up to three minutes in length. This might be a rags-to-riches story, a scripted film with professional actors, or an animation depicting the inner workings of the finance system. All film technologies are permitted.

Once the films have been submitted, seven will be chosen in each category via online voting. Bitfilm will show the selected shorts at the November 2010 festival in Hamburg and then compile them into a feature-length film, adding connecting elements, a musical score and intertitles. The result will be released at the cinema in 2011 and subsequently marketed on DVD, as Video on Demand or on television.

The filmmakers retain all rights to their original titles, while granting Bitfilm permission to make something new out of their work in accordance with the open source principle. Upon conclusion of a contract, they receive a minimum guarantee and are entitled to a percentage of future box-office proceeds. The prizewinners in each category furthermore receive award money of 2,500 euros each.

Financing for the films will come from conventional sources along with so-called crowd funding. This means that anyone can contribute to funding the film. To this end, Bitfilm will sell “filmbits” at the price of 300 euros per second. Purchasing a share – in legal terms an interest-free loan – entitles the holder to a percentage of the profits. In addition, shareholders receive a greater number of votes in the online selection, graduated according to number of shares.

Shares can be purchased until 1 July 2010 for 300 euros – after which the price will go up. The deadline for submitting films is 31 July 2010.

URL: http://www.bitfilm.com/festival/