2011

News

Argentina: Indiestribucion expands services

The Argentinean online platform for short films “Indiestribucion” has added new interactive tools to make it easier for filmmakers to publicize their work. After setting up a user account, filmmakers can now use the platform to manage their profiles and submit works to festivals. There are also possibilities for developing joint film projects.

Indiestribucion will in addition continue to regularly update the sections on the website providing the latest news on films, filmmakers and festivals. The platform has an international reach and is available in several languages.

Further information: http://www.indiestribucion.com

Leuven Short Film Festival shows “Milestones in Short Film History” || 23/11/2011

This year’s Internationaal Kortfilmfestival Leuven (Belgium) will present “Milestones in Short Film History”, four programmes of 30 short films produced in the century between 1900 and 2000 that left their mark on cinematic history.

As it would be impossible to trace the entire history of short film in the course of four programmes with a combined running time of just 400 minutes, the curators have selected films that demonstrate how new developments in film were first tested out in the short form. The selections thus include the first “talkie”, the first film in colour and the first computer-generated film. Another focus is on aesthetic innovations and new genres – for example the first Nouvelle Vague film and the first music film.

The featured films will be introduced at the festival by film scholars, and research conducted to compile the programmes is published in English.

Further information: http://www.kortfilmfestival.be/ikl2011/programma.php?programma=26&nr=1

SANAD Emarati – Short film promotion by the Abu Dhabi Film Festival || 23/11/2011

SANAD is the development and post-production fund of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, dedicated to supporting talented filmmakers from the Arab world. In addition to promoting fiction films and documentaries, funding is also available for short films.

The funding initiative SANAD Emarati supports short-film makers from countries belonging to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC Region). SANAD Emarati helps filmmakers to present their work at international festivals and markets, to connect with industry professionals and to reach new audiences.

Narrative shorts up to 15 minutes in length are eligible for funding. Applications can be submitted for two funding rounds each year. The current application deadline is 1 December 2011.
Selected filmmakers also receive assistance in publicizing their work, finding further funding and submitting their films to other festivals.

Further information: http://www.abudhabifilmfestival.ae/en/sanad/sanad-emarati

Africa First programme announces winners || 23/11/2011

In October the organization Africa First announced which short-film projects will be funded this year. Five filmmakers from Africa will receive $10,000 toward the production of new short films: Oshosheni Hiveluah (from Namibia); Cedric Ido (from Burkina Faso); Mark Middlewick (from South Africa);  Akosua Adoma Owusu (from Ghana) and Zelalem Woldemariam (from Ethiopia).

This is the fourth year that Africa First has promoted filmmakers and productions on the African continent. Previously sponsored films have been shown at festivals in Sundance, Toronto, Berlin and elsewhere. Africa First is an initiative of Focus Features, founded by NBC and Vivendi Universal. The Africa First programme is overseen by the New York production company Completion Films.

Africa First: http://www.focusfeatures.com/africafirst/apply.php

Festival Scope – Beta version online || 23/11/2011

Festival Scope is a new film-industry distribution platform that offers films from festival programmes as video-on-demand. Festival Scope sees itself as an all-round tool for accessing the international festival scene and would like to support the reach and sale of films presented at festivals.

The partners of Festival Scope are film festivals rather than the filmmakers and producers directly. More than 50 international festivals are already participating in the beta version. Among them are short film festivals like Clermont-Ferrand and Vila do Conde. Currently, some 300 short films can be viewed on Festival Scope.

Access is reserved exclusively for film professionals – following registration and a credential check. Certain restrictions and copy-protection precautions are in place to prevent copyright infringements and misuse. For example, films can be viewed only once and the name of the viewer is superimposed on the film.

Registered users can view films and contact the director or rights holder. Media such as trailers, interviews or clips can be integrated into the film pages. The filmmakers or producers can also offer promotional materials such as photos or flyers for download. They furthermore receive detailed reports on the usage of their offerings. The programme of films is supplemented by news from the international festival scene.

Behind the Festival Scope brand is the newly founded company Moving Scope SAS (Paris). The project receives support from MEDIA and the RIAM Network and is co-financed by the French CNC.

URL: http://www.festivalscope.com

Digitising Contemporary Art – A new way to access contemporary European culture || 23/11/2011

Digitising Contemporary Art (DCA) is a European consortium devoted to making contemporary European art available to viewers online. In a 30-month digitisation project that began in early 2011 and which is supported by the European Union, high-quality reproductions are being made of more than 20,000 artworks. These include paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations and videos. The results are to be published on the portal Europeana .

The background behind the initiative is the fact that contemporary art has to date not been incorporated in the European cultural heritage portal Europeana. DCA now wants to close this gap and hence stimulate public interest in contemporary art by facilitating access.

DCA is collaborating with museums and art collections. The 21 collections come from 12 European countries. The digital images and films produced in the context of DCA will then also become part of the digital collections of all other participating institutions.

The DCA consortium is preparing meta-data and images for over 26,921 artworks and 1,857 contextualized documents for publication on Europeana. These include masterpieces created in various disciplines by the foremost artists from many of the countries of Europe.

Partners of the enterprise include the following institutions, most of them working in video: argos, EMAF, Netherlands Media Art Institute, Transmediale and WRO Art Center.

Project coordinator is PACKED – Centre of Expertise in Digital Heritage (Brussels). Responsible for publicizing information on the project is LCCA – Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (Riga).

URL: http://www.digitisingcontemporaryart.eu

Discoveries in the vlogosphere – Short film online || 30/11/2011

 

_”Portret z kuratorem w tle (Portrait of the Artist with Curators)”, Azorro Group (2002)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=DE&v=ZZRD-o6sDEU

_”Licking Curators Ass”, Ondrej Brody & Kristofer Paeteu (2005)
URL: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6678656432223399576

_”Robin Good on Curation”, Howard Rheingold (2011)
URL: http://youtu.be/o1IeOzIoRDs

-“Robert Scoble on Online Curation”, Howard Rheingold (2011)
URL: http://youtu.be/WMn-cJHzF8A

Egyptian portmanteau film “Tamantashar yom (18 Days)” comes to the cinema || 20/09/2011

After debuting at the Cannes Film Festival, “18 Days” is now on view at French cinemas. The two-hour anthology, proclaimed as “the first film about the Arab Spring”, consists of 10 chapters. These are actually separate short films shot by different teams during the period from 25 January to 11 February 2011 around Tahrir Square in Cairo.

The ten Egyptian directors, among them both established names and also new-generation filmmakers, focus on anecdotes involving the people and events of the Egyptian revolution, each from a unique perspective. The films’ directors are Sherif Arafa, Kamla Abou Zikri, Marwan Hamed, Mohamed Aly, Sherif El Bendari, Khaled Marei, Mariam Abou Ouf, Ahmad Abdallah, Yousry Nasrallah and Ahmad Alaa. All teams worked on a volunteer basis and without a set budget. The anthology has set off heated discussions in Egypt, as two of the directors previously shot TV spots for Mubarak’s party.

The compilation was produced by the “18 jours” collective at Lighthouse Films (Cairo). Lighthouse Films is a production company that otherwise produces mainly tourist films and ads. Lighthouse also caused a sensation, with a TV spot for Pepsi featuring music by the indie band Cairokee (see below: shortfilm online).

URL: http://www.eurozoom.fr/site/index.php?2011/07/05/83-18-jours-un-film-de-marwan-hamed-yousri-nasrallah
Official: http://www.18days-movie.com/
Production Lighthouse: http://www.lighthousefilm.com

Random Film Festival embraces randomness as selection principle || 20/09/2011

In March 2012 the International Random Film Festival will be held for the third time. What’s special about this festival is not only the choice of location, but also the method for selecting films. Namely, both are determined with the help of the Wikipedia Random Article Button and a number generator from random.org. Twenty-five films are selected at random for the competition each year. The venue for the 2012 festival was already chosen during the closing ceremony for 2011, at random of course: Anija in Estonia – a village with a population of 128. The dates for the festival were also left to coincidence.

Finnish filmmaker Hannaleena Hauru and Swiss artist Synes Elischka came up with the idea for the festival after being dissatisfied with the situation on the international short film festival scene. The arbitrariness of the Random Film Festival is their way of criticizing the usual festival selection procedure and deconstructing the concept that a film competition is all about quality.

The organizers guarantee that for those who would like to have their film considered for the competition it helps neither to know them personally, nor to boast an impressive CV or to have already won awards in other competitions

URL: http://randomfilmfest.com/

Exhibition: Worldwide Video Long Beach 1974-1999 || 20/09/2011

From 6 October 2011 to 12 February 2012 the Long Beach Museum of Art will present an exhibition titled “Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach 1974-1999″. The curated retrospective brings together important video works by 30 international artists who were featured from 1974 to 1999 at the Long Beach Museum. The 1970s and 80s were a particularly productive period for video art in Long Beach. In the 1990s the museum’s profile expanded and artists from all over the world flocked to its production studio.

Amongst the artists with works in the exhibition are Marina Abramovic, Klaus vom Bruch, Robert Cahen, Ed Emswiller, Mako Idemitsu, Joan Jonas, Björn Melhus, Antoni Muntadas, Nam June Paik, Steina and Woody Vasulka, Bill Viola and others.

The curators of “Exchange and Evolution” are Kathy Ray Huffman and Nancy Buchanan. The show is part of the Getty Research Institute’s “Pacific Standard Time” initiative spotlighting the birth of the Los Angeles art scene, in which more than 50 institutions in Southern California are participating during the second half of 2011.

Further information: http://www.lbma.org/

CALF – Indie label for Japanese animated film || 20/09/2011

CALF is a young label dedicated to the international promotion of Japanese animation. As well as publishing DVDs, CALF also organizes programmes for international festivals. The label was founded in 2010 by the filmmakers Key Oyama, Atsushi Wada, Mirai Mizue and film critic Nobuaki Doi. To date four DVDs of films by the CALF founders and one with works by Tochka have been released, and are distributed in cooperation with CaRTe bLaNChe. CaRTe bLaNChe (Paris) also offers short films by other filmmakers whose works were previously not available outside Japan.

URL Calf: http://calf.jp/
URL Carte Blanche: http://c-a-r-t-e-blanche.com/web/

Sinema SCREEM – New short film festival for Asian horror films || 20/09/2011

The first SCREEM Shorts Festival will be held in Singapore from 29 September to 1 October 2011. SCREEM is geared toward filmmakers and screenwriters who work in the horror film genre in Asia.

The festival is an initiative of the Sinema organization, which promotes local filmmaking and film heritage in Singapore. Sinema was founded in 2006 by the makers of the indie film “Becoming Royston”. Among other activities, Sinema runs a cinema and the Sinema Academy film school.

URL: http://www.sinema.sg/screem2011/

Discoveries in the vlogosphere – Short film online || 20/09/2011

_Pepsi Egypt and Cairokee (Prod. Lighthouse)
(see also “18 Days” above)
URL: http://hotarabicmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/pepsi-egypt-and-cairokeeexpress.html

_some opinions about Final Cut Pro X (cf. topic “Digital Shorts”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXepNCs_iZo

_Short doc about Chris Burden’s “Metropolis II”
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=llacDdn5yIE#!/

_”… in the Woods” online, by Jennifer Elster
URL http://www.itwpathway.com/

_Oskar Fischinger’s Lumigraph in “The Time Travelers” (1964)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08oOC2JDQk0

Iceland: Non-profit project puts Icelandic films online || 12/07/11

Icelandic Cinema Online (ICO) is a new video-on-demand website dedicated exclusively to Icelandic film. The platform is a private initiative launched by Sunna Gudnadottir and Steffi Thors, who got the idea when they were abroad and missed watching Icelandic films. ICO has been online since late May 2011 and already has over 40 films on offer.

The films cost between 0€ and 4€ “per view”, or for a period of 24 hours. All films have subtitles in English, and in some cases in other languages as well. The website itself is currently in English. French and German versions are under construction, with Spanish to follow.

In addition to fiction and documentary films, 16 short films are streamed on the site, including “Two Birds” by Ríºnar Ríºnarsson and “Wrestling” by Grimur Hí¥konarson. The repertoire is steadily growing.

URL: http://www.icelandiccinema.com

Japanese Animation Filmography Project || 12/07/11

The Canadian film critic Catherine Munroe Hotes, who already operates the blog Nishikita Film Review, is working on an extensive online filmography of Japanese animated films. She is particularly interested in early Japanese animation and art animation.

The website “Japanese Animation Filmography Project” works according to the Wiki model. Together with two partners, Adrián Encinas (Puppets and Clay, Madrid) and Eija Niksansen (University of Helsinki), Hotes drafts the filmographies and then asks readers and the filmmakers themselves to check them for accuracy. 

The website has been online for almost one year and already provides filmographies for some 70 Japanese animated film makers.

URL: https://sites.google.com/site/nishikatajafp/

Baltic Shorts || 12/07/11

BALTICSHORTS.com is a website where filmmakers and the film industry in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania can present short films. The idea is to make films that can usually be viewed only at festivals available to a wider public.

According to the organizers, however, their chief goal is to promote cross-border communication between filmmakers and industry professionals. For this purpose, the site offers not only films with commentaries, but also another section where members can introduce themselves and provide contact details.

Baltic Shorts was founded in 2010 by filmmaker Vents Grinbaums (Riga). There are currently around 100 short films online, which can be viewed free of charge. They are embedded in the interactive website in high-definition quality from a Vimeo channel. In future, the organizers plan to set up distribution for Baltic short films in order to bring the best of them to the cinema and television.

URL: http://balticshorts.com

Super 8 projector made of Lego bricks || 12/07/11

Hamburg filmmaker, social media entrepreneur and amateur inventor Friedemann Wachsmuth has constructed a functioning Super 8 projector out of LEGO bricks. The only parts not taken from commonly available building sets are the lens, reel spindles and LED lamp.

On his blog Wachsmuth demonstrates and explains how his projector works in a Vimeo film. For those nostalgic for the days of Super 8, it’s worthwhile having a look at the other blog entries under the heading “Super 8″ to find a host of helpful tips.

http://www.peaceman.de/blog/index.php/lego-technic-super-8-movie-projector

Call for submissions: Drive-in cinema screening for experimental films (A) || 12/07/11

On September 21th 2011 there will be a screening of experimental and avant-garde films in the drive-in cinema of Groß Enzersdorf near Vienna. For this event submissions of films (from 2009 and later), which gain quality by being presented on a 525m² large screen, are welcomed.

35mm films and videos are accepted. The program consists of work, which has museum quality or is customarily displayed in galleries.

The deadline is August 15th. Submit to: Verein fullframe, Postfach 82, A-1061 Wien
URL: http://fullframe.ull.at/ullCms/show/autokino-2011

Discoveries in the vlogosphere – Short film online || 12/07/11

_Demo video by Blair Neal: “The Wobbulator” (Paik/Abe Raster Manipulation Unit)
(see also report section)
URL: http://blairneal.com/blog/the-wobbulator/

_Films by Ryan Trecartin
(see also news section)
URL: http://vimeo.com/trecartin

_Animate OPEN online exhibition (live on 13 July 2011): “Digitalis”
URL: http://www.animateprojects.org/films/by_project/digitalis/animate_open

_Video Painting by Jasmina Metwaly: “Remarks on Medan (Tahrir version)
URL: http://vimeo.com/22084673

Spanish distributor launches monthly short film event in Madrid ll 30/04/2001

In view of the scant opportunities available in Spain to screen short films at the cinema apart from festivals, the Spanish film distributor The House of Films has now taken the initiative to change things. The idea behind ¡Cí“RTATE! is to present new short films to the public every month at a big cinema in the centre of Madrid.
 
The tradition-steeped Cine Capitol in the Gran Ví­a has been secured as venue, and a specialist in digital cinema, Timelapses.es, ensures optimal projection. The first event, on 14 April, was already a great success: five short fiction films were seen by more than 1,000 viewers. ¡Cí“RTATE! is not just an evening at the cinema, but a real event, thanks to the filmmakers in attendance and a party following the screening. The price of admission, 2 euros, has deliberately been kept low.

The House of Films is a production and distribution company specializing in the short form and in independent productions. The company also offers a festival submission service. ¡Cí“RTATE! was conceived by filmmaker Rául Cerezo, co-director of the Escorto Festival. His short film “8” opened the programme.

URL: http://thehouseoffilms.com/en/cortate.html

Sixpackfilm brings out new distribution catalogue ll 30/04/2001

The Austrian distribution and sales organization sixpackfilm has published a supplement to its distribution catalogue, with more than 30 new titles that are now available for international distribution. Among them is Peter Tscherkassky’s new film “Coming Attractions”. The catalogue can be downloaded as PDF.

Sixpackfilm is a non-commercial organization for the promotion of Austrian artistic film and video. It also organizes retrospectives, thematic programmes and tours. The full distribution catalogue comprises some 1,000 titles. Films can be submitted for inclusion in the catalogue. The next submission deadline is 15 June 2011.

URL: http://www.sixpackfilm.com

Video art festival at Moscow Museum of Modern Art ll 30/04/2001

From 13 July to 5 September, the MMoMA will host the video art festival “Now&After”. The event is part of “Workshop 2011″, an exhibition of the work of young international artists. On this occasion, the organizers have invited artists to digitally submit short videos up to 5 minutes in length.
Entry deadline is 15 May 2011.

Contact: now-after @ rambler.ru
Download entry form: http://mmoma.ru/downloads/festival_videoarta_sejchaspotom//

Tribeca Institute New Media Fund 2011 ll 30/04/2001

The TFI New Media Fund (New York) provides funding and support to non-fiction, social issue media projects which go beyond traditional screens – integrating video with content across media platforms, from video games and mobile apps to interactive websites.

Four to eight projects will be accepted, each receiving $50,000 to $100,000 in funding.
Producers from the U.S. and internationally are invited to apply. Submissions must be in advanced development or beyond, but not yet launched publicly.

The submission deadline is May, 25th, 2011. There are no entry fees.

Info: http://dashboard.tribecafilminstitute.org/pages/rules_and_reg_newmedia

DVD spotting ll 30/04/2001

_INDEX036: “Just Say Not To Family Values”

The aim of the compilation is to cast a multi-part glance from various perspectives and geo-political contexts on body and gender roles as well as sexual politics.
Films: “Just Say No To Family Values” (John Giorno, Antonello Faretta, I 2005, 5 min); “Der Spiegel” (Keren Cytter, D/IL 2007, 5 min); “Kip Masker” (Maria Petschnig, A 2007, 3 min); “Schenkeldrücken” (Patrycja German, PL/D 2005, 7 min), “Invisible Pearls” (Jaan Toomik, J. Paavle, R. Laius, EE 2004, 12 min); “Fag Fighters: Prologue”, Karol Radziszewski, PL 2007, 14 min); “Dead Devils Death Bar” (Deborah Schamoni, D 2008, 26 min)
PAL DVD, Region 0, 91 mins, Original versions with english subtitles, € 28,80
Further information: INDEX http://www.index-dvd.at

_Clermont-Ferrand: 10ans de Labo en DVD

On the occasion of 10 year Labo at the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand, 10 eclectic films, which mirror a competition that pushes the limits of cinema.
Films: “Duck Children” (Sam Walker, UK 2001); “Délices” (Gérard Cairaschi, F 2002); “The Raftman’s Razor” (Keith Bearden, USA 2004); “Wir sind dir treu” (Michael Koch, CH/D 2005); “Sea Change” (Joe King & Rosie Pedlow, UK 2006); “I am (not) van Gogh” (David Russo, USA 2005); “Raymond” (Bif, F/UK 2006); “The Tale of How” (The Blackheart Gang, ZA 2006); “Energie!” (Thorsten Fleisch, D 2007); “Lila” (Broadcast Club, F 2008).
PAL DVD, Region 2, 72 mins, € 14,90
Further information: Format Court http://www.formatcourt.com/2011/02/10-ans-de-labo-en-dvd/

_New at lowave: “IN/FLUX – Mediatrips from the African World”, vol. 1

The first edition of a series of three DVDs of experimental films and videos from the African world centre on the dual theme of movement and displacemeht. A range of genres is represented: documentary gazes and Afrofuturist takes, spy camera zoom-ins and travels through virtual landscapes, (mock) music-video and horror-flick aesthetics
Ten films by Neil Beloufa, Dineo Bopape, Jaco Bouwer, Ahmed El Shaer, Ismail Farouk, Khaled Hafez, Stacy Hardy, Goddy Leye, Nastio Mosquito, Mowoso und Julia Raynham.
PAL/NTSC DVD, Region 0, english/french with subtitles, 104 min, € 25 / $ 36.46
Further information: Lowave http://www.lowave.com

Discoveries in the vlogosphere – Short film online ll 30/04/2001

_On Main: “Hippie Chick” by Dana Claxton
see also news section
URL: http://www.youtube.com/offonmain

_Mashable: 14 Movie Cliché Supercuts That Poke Fun at Hollywood (Videos)

Do you sigh every time you see an overused plot device or hear a tired old cliché trotted out on the silver screen? We do too. In what should be required viewing for all Hollywood scriptwriters, we’re calling out the industry for its lack of imagination.
To poke some loving fun, Mashable has curated 15 fantastic “supercuts” lovingly compiled by some talented YouTubers. This clips make fun of hackneyed lines and fatigued filmic scenarios that appear all too often.
URL: http://mashable.com/2011/04/16/movie-cliche-supercuts/

_TED Talks: Missing Artist Ai Weiwei on Art and Social Change
URL: http://artthreat.net/2011/04/ai-weiwei-ted-talks-social-change/

_Animate Projects: “Dance Swine Dance” by Matt Stokes
The first animated film by acclaimed artist Matt Stokes. “Dance Swine Dance” continues Stokes’ investigation of the social and visual codes of specific subcultures, in this instance revealing a series of recognisable dance styles freed from the constraints of the music.
URL: http://www.animateprojects.org/films/by_date/2011/dance_swine_dance

Oscar-nominated short films at the cinema and on iTunes || 16/03/2011

Shorts International and the American distributor Magnolia Pictures will this year once again release the Oscar-nominated shorts at over 150 cinemas in the United States and Canada. For the first time, nominated Documentaries are included alongside the Animation and Live Action categories. Last year, the short film reel made over one million dollars at the US box office.

In parallel with theatrical release in the USA and Canada, Shorts International (headquartered in London) is also selling the films through the iTunes stores in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Blog: http://theoscarnominatedshortfilms.blogspot.com/

LIAA conference features presentations on online animated shorts || 16/03/2011

In December 2009 the animation department of the University of Lucerne hosted the Lucerne International Animation Academy (LIAA) in Switzerland. A central theme at the international conference was dramaturgy and story telling in animated shorts. Sharing their experiences at the conference were students, filmmakers and university lecturers from 25 countries.

Talks and presentations were held by filmmakers and artists including Yuri Norstein (Moscow), Jerzy Kucia (Krakow), Priit Pärn (Tallinn), David O’Reilly (Berlin), Normand Roger (Montreal), Gil Alkabetz (Stuttgart), Georges Schwizgebel (Geneva) and many others. The various presentations were recorded, and the LIAA is now putting some of them online as Web TV, available for viewing free of charge by the interested public.

URL: http://liaa.hslu.ch/tv

“Best Sámi Shorts” on tour || 16/03/2011

The Skábmagovat indigenous peoples’ festival in Inari (Finland) has compiled a programme of Sámi short films from the years 2003 to 2010 that is now on tour. The twelve films come from all countries of the Sámi region except for Russia. First stop was the short film festival in Tampere. Further presentations are already planned for the festivals in Grimstad (N), Odense (DK), Trondheim (N), Uppsala (S) and í…rhus (DK).

The programme “Best Sámi Shorts” premiered in February 2011 at the Skábmagovat Festival, which was founded in 1999 and features not only films from the region but also works by other indigenous filmmakers, as well as hosting seminars and discussions on cultural issues and film policy. In keeping with its international scope, the festival is presenting this year a series of works from the Indigenous Film Archive of Nepal, among other programmes Skábmagovat has been cooperating since 2011 with partner festival ImagineNATIVE in Toronto.

A special attraction at the festival in Inari are the unique venues, including an open-air cinema built of snow and ice, and a huge Sámi tent where viewers sit on reindeer hides.

Skábmagovat is organized by the Friends of Sámi Art and the Indigenous Peoples’ Film Centre Skábma.

URL: http://www.skabmagovat.fi

Animate Projects touring programmes || 16/03/2011

Animate Projects is sending off a retrospective of 20 years of experimental animation in the UK as touring programme. The package comprises three feature-length compilations totalling more than 40 films. Viewers will be treated to a historical overview of the development of artistic animated film, along with detailed insights into the specific borderline area where art and film overlap.

Featured are the most important works of the past 20 years, including films by Al and Al, Andrew Kotting, Cordelia Swann, Inger Lise Hansen, Jonathan Hodgson, Kayla Parker, Paul Bush, Phil Mulloy, Run Wrake, Ruth Lingford, Sarah Cox and many others. The programme can be rented as Digi Beta, PAL DVD or Quicktime Files.

Info: http://www.animateprojects.org/distribution

Second short film listed in the Guinness Book of World Records || 16/03/2011

In January the Academia de Cine in Spain celebrated the entry of another short film in the Guinness Book of World Records: “Porque hay cosas que nunca se olvidan” (Because there are things you will never forget) received an official certificate as the short film with the most awards and distinctions. Argentinean director Lucas Figueroa’s film about childish revenge, redolent with black humour, has pocketed nearly 300 prizes and honours.

This is the second short film to make it into the Guinness Book. The first is “˜somewhat’ older: Cecil Hepworth’s production “Rescued by Rover”, notable for being the cheapest short film ever made. The silent short was shot in the United Kingdom in 1904 at a cost of seven pounds 13 shillings and 9 pence. The story of a dog that rescues a kidnapped baby is considered a milestone in the early days of animal film. Like his successor Lassie, Rover was a Collie. Despite its low budget, the film was a commercial hit, with producer Cecil Hepworth managing to sell nearly 400 prints for £10 12s 6d apiece!

Guinness Book entry: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/Search/Details/Most-awards-won-by-a-shortfilm/73620.htm
Award gallery: http://www.lmffilms.com/because.html
View video stream: http://www.lmffilms.com/web/pelicula.html
“Rescued by Rover”: http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=30497

Visit – the artist in residence programme of the RWE foundation

/  02/04/11

The “visit” programme of the RWE Foundation promotes young artists by offering them a free space for pursuing individual design work. At the invitation of the Foundation, the selected artists develop their respective project over a period of about three months. Depending on the topic, this takes place at a German or also possibly an international location of the company.

The RWE Foundation promotes young artists; participants should not be older than thirty. The programme is geared to artists from Germany and the rest of Europe, with a focus on countries where RWE is present with an employed staff.

Preference is given to the use of electronic media, i.e. the fields of photography, video/film or also web art.

Deadline: 31/03/2011
URL: http://www.visit-programm.de/en/

Bill Plympton’s “Idiots’ Diary” and the Academy shortlist || 11.01.2011

“Idiots’ Diary” is a blog site on which Bill Plympton follows the fortunes of his feature-length film “Idiots & Angels”, posting updates bi-weekly. In this online diary the animated-film maker also speaks out occasionally, and candidly, on other issues.

His blog entry on 20 December 2010 provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the Academy at work in New York, where Plympton participated in a screening. All 30 animated films were shown that have been shortlisted for the 2011 Oscars, with the Academy members from the northeastern states in attendance. Plympton was less than impressed with one of the candidates: “The American Dream” is a Tea Party film, he writes, about how rich Jews are causing the economic recession. Much too long and simply terrible, in his opinion. Another film, which he liked (“Wisdom Tooth” by Don Hertzfeldt), did not make it onto the later list of nominees. His own film “The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger” is still in the running, though …

 

Website

ImagineNATIVE and NFB Canada announce a digital media project || 11.01.2011

The Toronto-based imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, together with the National Film Board (NFB/ONF) of Canada, are calling on Canadian Aboriginal artists to submit proposals for digital media works. Proposals for works in any digital medium and on any theme can be submitted until 31 January. They might be interactive documentaries, mobile media, interactive animations, photographic art, data visualizations, installations, community media, interactive videos or user-generated media.

 

The project, which the organizers refer to as “groundbreaking”, is designed to help imagineNATIVE expand the presence of new media and digital art at the festival. Taking place each October, the festival presents and discusses films and other audiovisual works by indigenous filmmakers and artists from all over the world. The current project is addressed to the Aboriginals on the festival’s own home ground, i.e. the First Nations, Métis and Inuit of Canada.

 

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EMAF Tour 2010-2011 || 11.01.2011

The European Media Art Festival (EMAF, Osnabrück) is once again offering a tour package on loan this year. Titled “Personal Histories”, the 80-minute programme features three award-winning films from the EMAF 2010 along with other works dealing with personal destinies and how people come to terms with their pasts and their lives.

 

The 2010 award winners were “Nacht um Olympia” by Timo Schierhorn (Best German Experimental), “5 lessons and 9 questions about Chinatown” by Shelly Silver (Dialogue Award) and “Suburb Within” by Pekka Sassi (EMAF Award).

 

The programme can be rented on DVD for 150 euros.

 

Website

Short Film Studies Volume 2 Number 1: Call for papers || 11.01.2011

The editor of Short Film Studies, Richard Raskin, is calling for submissions to the next issue of the magazine. Once again, the editor and publishing house have selected three short films for discussion, which will be available for viewing online.

 

Those interested in publishing an article (which should not exceed 1,500 words) in the magazine should submit a 50-word abstract. The aim of the publication is to have short-film experts – students or film scholars – examine the selected films from various points of view. Submission deadline for abstracts is 1 April 2011.

 

The abstracts from the last issue, Volume 1 Issue 1, can be downloaded as PDF.

 

Contact: Richard Raskin Publisher: Intellect Books

Boomvideo – Vlogging project by Vidéoformes (F) || 11.01.2011

The organization Vidéoformes (Clermont-Ferrand) is calling on filmmakers to submit videos from 30 seconds to 3 minutes in length to the project Boomvideo. On the 1st, 10th and 20th day of each month in 2011 a new video will be released on the Boomvideo vlogging platform.

 

The project is an initiative of Justine Emard, artist in residence at Videoformes. The premiere took place on 1 January 2011.

 

Further information

Clips from Oberhausen on Tour selections can now be viewed online || 11.01.2011

Trailers of all films in the current “Oberhausen on Tour” distribution programme can now be viewed on the website of the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. The film clips are available as Flash video from OnlineFilm.

Among other goals, the idea is to give cinemas and other potential borrowers an opportunity to select the films they would like to order.

website 

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