Short Films

Berlinale 2017: Karam Ghossein’s STREET OF DEATH Wins Audi Short Film Award

[caption id="attachment_20708" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Audi Short Film Award goes to Lebanese director Karam Ghossein – here with Jason Lusty, Head of Marketing Germany at AUDI AG[/caption] Lebanese director Karam Ghossein has won the Audi Short Film Award, along with its €20,000 cash prize at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival for his short film Street of Death. Director and cameraman Karam Ghossein creates a stream of images from the present combined with stories from the past, occurring like a kaleidoscope along the highway to the Beirut International Airport. In the 22-minute-long firm, struggles for power and respect remain as persistent points throughout the ages. The international short film jury for 2017 includes Christian Jankowski, an artist and Professor at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart; Kimberly Drew, Curator and Social Media Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York; and Carlos Núñez, Artistic Director of the SANFIC Santiago International Film Festival. A total of 23 films from 19 countries competed in the Berlinale Shorts section. Under the title “Reframing the Image,” curator Maike Mia Höhne assembled a series of films focused on recalibrating one’s own perception, offering the filmgoer a unique new perspective. “The short film is the hotbed of creativity for the film industry. This is where directors execute their visions and provide food for thought, sometimes experimentally, sometimes essayistically. This gives rise to new trends – and that’s what we want to support with the Audi Short Film Award,” says Jason Lusty, Head of Marketing Germany at AUDI AG, explaining Audi’s involvement. The Audi Short Film Award is presented in the Berlinale Shorts section alongside the Golden and Silver Bears, and is among the world’s most lucrative short film awards.
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Short Film: How To Say I Love You

Casually say “I love you” to an adolescent without inducing a panic attack. No manual exists to equip teens for that first experience, but of course this is the era of Google and so I looked to the internet for guidance. Then I found the British short film ‘How To Say I Love You.’ When I first watched this short film as a teenage girl, filled with angst and unidentified urges, I praised the romance. Now, seeing it as a woman, I recognize the faults of its idealism and its undertone of misogyny (as the man invades the woman’s privacy and personal space). Outraged by his advances, I was gearing up to punch younger me in the face for loving such garbage, however, I continued watching and saw the woman scope through his vulnerabilities in return. It’s a matter of context that keeps this short film from the deep end of cliche. Yes, it is a cliche as well as a fresh example of how to express one’s love. This exchange between strangers values the simplicity of love. Those who know the song “More Than Words”, by Extreme, might be ahead of this analysis and ready to fully appreciate this piece of art. (I highly encourage that you listen to that song in case you are unfamiliar with it.) Without the title of this piece directing us, though the innocence of their interaction is beautiful, the message would be incomplete. Absent of title, this film may read as a “boy meets girl” love story, pretty basic. Neither of the characters ever say the words, but through observation there is love in his attentiveness, in her willingness, and especially in their weighted silence. We are gifted with a glimpse of what could occur when people are open to each other. Kudos to this title for saving the day and the creators of this piece for giving us love without words. Love is possible even among strangers, once one is willing to come out of themselves and into the word. Take a look for yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ7Et8aO-n8
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Thunder Road Wins Best Short Film at Sundance Film Festival

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival announced the winners of the jury prizes in short filmmaking, with the Short Film Grand Jury Prize going to Thunder Road by director and screenwriter Jim Cummings. This year’s Short Film jurors are: star and co-creator of Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, Keegan-Michael Key; development executive at Amazon Studios, Gina Kwon; and chief film critic for MTV, Amy Nicholson. 2016 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards: The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: Thunder Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jim Cummings) — Officer Arnaud loved his mom. The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: The Procedure / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — A man is captured and forced to endure a strange experiment. The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to: Maman(s) / France (Director and screenwriter: Maïmouna Doucouré ) — Life is disrupted for eight-year-old Aida when her father returns with a young Senegalese woman, Rama, whom he introduces as his second wife. Sensitive to her mother’s distress, Aida decides to get rid of the new visitor. The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to: Bacon & God’s Wrath / Canada (Director: Sol Friedman) — A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time. The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was presented to: Edmond / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Nina Gantz) — Edmond’s impulse to love and be close to others is strong—maybe too strong. As he stands by a lake contemplating his options, he reflects on his defining moments in search of the origin of his desires. A Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance was presented to: Grace Glowicki for her performance in Her Friend Adam. A Short Film Special Jury Award for Best Direction was presented to: Peacock / Czech Republic (Director: Ondřej Hudeček, Screenwriters: Jan Smutny, Ondřej Hudeček) — A twisted queer romance set in picturesque 19th-century Bohemia tells the true story of the birth of one of the nation’s most influential writers, with suspense, laughter, violence, hope, nudity, sex, and a happy ending—mostly a happy ending.
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72 Short Films on Lineup for 2016 Sundance Film Festival

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival, taking place January 21 to 31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Sundance and Ogden, Utah, announced its full lineup of 72 short films. Among the short films the Festival has shown in recent years are World of Tomorrow, Whiplash, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom and Fishing Without Nets. This year’s short film lineup will include both a Midnight and a New Frontier section, tying into the Festival’s other programmatic strands.

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10 Live Action Short Films Advance in 2015 Oscar Race | TRAILERS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 88th Academy Awards®. One hundred forty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Ave Maria,” Basil Khalil, director, and Eric Dupont, producer (Incognito Films) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC7B8q6J9s4 “Bad Hunter,” Sahim Omar Kalifa, director, and Dries Phlypo, producer (A Private View) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwVhi_iSl4 “Bis Gleich (Till Then),” Philippe Brenninkmeyer, producer, and Tara Lynn Orr, writer (avenueROAD Films) (pictured in main image above) “Contrapelo (Against the Grain),” Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, director, and Pin-Chun Liu, producer (Ochenta y Cinco Films) “Day One,” Henry Hughes, director (American Film Institute) “Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut),” Patrick Vollrath, director (Filmakademie Wien) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPrRmiJXTVY “The Free Man (Zi You Ren),” Quah Boon-Lip, director (Taipei National University of the Arts) “Shok,” Jamie Donoughue, director (Eagle Eye Films) “Stutterer,” Benjamin Cleary, director (Bare Golly Films) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnlBGQUn0tM “Winter Light,” Julian Higgins, director, and Josh Pence, producer (Innerlight Films and Prelude Pictures) Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting. Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist. Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December. The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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10 Animated Short Films Advance in 2015 Oscar Race | TRAILERS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 88th Academy Awards®. Sixty pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Bear Story (Historia De Un Oso),” Gabriel Osorio, director, and Pato Escala, producer (Punkrobot Animation Studio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUYg7WZSqc “Carface (Autos Portraits),” Claude Cloutier, director (National Film Board of Canada)(pictured in main image above) “If I Was God…,” Cordell Barker, director (National Film Board of Canada) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAEQIK4pDvw “Love in the Time of March Madness,” Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano, directors (High Hip Productions and KAPWA Studioworks) https://vimeo.com/89993508 “My Home,” Phuong Mai Nguyen, director (Papy3D Productions) https://vimeo.com/110398088 “An Object at Rest,” Seth Boyden, director (California Institute of the Arts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmfk1Sz0gS4 “Prologue,” Richard Williams, director, and Imogen Sutton, producer (Animation Masterclass) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G78qA9oreNE “Sanjay’s Super Team,” Sanjay Patel, director, and Nicole Grindle, producer (Pixar Animation Studios) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJKwsTKFrY “We Can’t Live without Cosmos,” Konstantin Bronzit, director (Melnitsa Animation Studio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KQKYzgusFI “World of Tomorrow,” Don Hertzfeldt, director (Bitter Films) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdV1uFwtCpo Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting. Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist. Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December. The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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4 FIlmmakers Win 2015 Lexus Short Films Series at Napa Valley Film Festival

Four filmmakers, Alexis Michalik, Byoung-Gon Moon, Damian Walshe-Howling and Pippa Bianco, are winners of the 2015 Lexus Short Films series, sponsored by Lexus and The Weinstein Company, at the Napa Valley Film Festival. The four finalists will also receive promotional theatrical distribution for their short films, participate in a tour of top film festivals around the world and receive an at-home filmmaking and editing suite. The Weinstein Company co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said, “The Lexus Short Films series has been a fantastic partnership to help discover young filmmakers while shining a light on the short film format. This year’s Lexus Short Films series provided an opportunity to reach aspiring filmmakers around the world looking to gain exposure and experience through the chance to work with Lexus and The Weinstein Company. We have been truly impressed by the number and quality of submissions received with more than 4,000 submissions from over 100 countries. We look forward to helping the finalists turn their visions into truly great films.” Lexus Short Films Season 3 Winners 1. Alexis Michalik (France, Europe) Alexis is an actor and filmmaker who has starred in several television movies and series, such as Petits meurtres en famille, Terre de lumière and Kaboul Kitchen and feature films directed by Billy Zane, Diane Kurys, Safy Nebou, Yann Samuel, Fernando Colomo, Danièle Thompson and Alexandre Arcady. Alexis is also known for acting successfully in theater in the comedy Le Dindon, staged by Thomas Le Douarec, and Ibsen and Strindberg’s Les Fleurs Gelées. He is the founder of the theater company Los Figaros and after directing two short films, Au Sol, in 2013 and Pim-Poum le petit Panda, in 2014, Alexis continues to pursue his writing career and will direct his first feature film Escort Boys. 2. Byoung-Gon Moon (South Korea, Asia) Moon is a filmmaker who graduated from Chung-Ang University in Seoul and is known for directing the short film No More Coffee Break, which was selected for the short film competition at the 2008 International College Peace Film Festival. Moon’s short film, Finis Operis, was a part of the short film competition of the critic’s week at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and in 2013, he directed his short film Safe, which was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. 3. Damian Walshe-Howling (Australia, Oceania) Damian is an acclaimed actor and filmmaker best known for his latest short film, Suspended, which recently screened in the official competition at international film festivals including St Kilda, Flickerfest, Nashville and Locarno in Switzerland. He is also known for his 2007 debut short film The Bloody Sweet Hit. Damian has a passion for storytelling which has taken him all over the world in pursuit of culturally diverse stories and roles. He received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for his performance of Melbourne’s “Most Loved Murderer”, Andrew Benji Veniamin, in the original Underbelly series. 4. Pippa Bianco (United States of America, North America) Pippa is a filmmaker who studied photography at Yale University and is currently writing and producing at Beyoncè’s Parkwood Entertainment, directing a commission for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a writing credit on the upcoming film Bleed For This. Pippa started her career by working in independent film – assisting on Braden King’s Here (Sundance 2011) and Leslye Headland’s Bachelorette (Sundance 2012). Since then, Pippa’s films have been selected and won awards at numerous festivals including Telluride and SXSW. Pippa was also chosen as one of nine filmmakers for the American Film Institute’s Women’s Directors Program fellowship in 2014, where her short film submission, Share, won the 1st Prize in the Cinéfondation category at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Continuing her success with AFI, she is a Yaddo Filmmaker-in-Residence for the 2015-2016 term.
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Award Winning Ebola Documentary BODY TEAM 12 to Debut on HBO in February 2016

BODY TEAM 12, winner of the Tribeca Film Festival award for best documentary short has been acquired by HBO Documentary Films and will debut on HBO in February 2016. BODY TEAM 12, recently nominated for an International Documentary Association award for best short, is directed by journalist-filmmaker and RYOT Co-Founder David Darg, who put his life at risk by embedding with a team of heroic Liberian Red Cross workers tasked with collecting the dead during the height of the Ebola outbreak. Executive produced by Paul G. Allen and actress Olivia Wilde, and produced by RYOT Co-Founder Bryn Mooser, BODY TEAM 12 lays bare the heartbreaking but lifesaving work of removing bodies from loved ones in order to halt the transmission of the disease. The filmmakers capture devasting and poignant images, shot on the ground in Monrovia, Liberia, that reveal the Ebola crisis through the story of Garmai Sumo, the sole female member of the body collection team. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eT2P1TfB8 Director David Darg states, “The bravery of these young Liberians was an astounding phenomenon to witness, as they risked their lives every day to save the lives of others, and to save their country from Ebola. BODY TEAM 12 is a tribute to those heroes, and it is our hope that a presentation on HBO will honor these body teams and lead to greater exposure of their determination and tireless efforts.”
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Watch the Full COSMIC SCRAT-TASTROPHE Short Featuring ICE AGE’s Scrat | VIDEO

COSMIC SCRAT-TASTROPHE short featuring ICE AGE’s Scrat screened in 2D and 3D exclusively with The Peanuts Movie in theaters on November 6, and now Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox have released the full version online. Scrat journeys where no ICE AGE character has gone before in COSMIC SCRAT-TASTROPHE. The consequences of Scrat’s antics are always momentous, and this time he’s creating his own version of the Big Bang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgSNlmkJCpg Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters. ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE, opening in theaters everywhere July 22, 2016, stars returning cast members Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes, and Jennifer Lopez. Joining the herd are Stephanie Beatriz, Adam DeVine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Max Greenfield, Jessie J, Nick Offerman, Melissa Rauch, Michael Strahan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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Renaissance Hotels and Marriott Content Studio Announce Latest Original Film BUSINESS UNUSUAL

Renaissance Hotels and Marriott’s Content Studio have partnered with Substance Over Hype to produce a new comedy short film, BUSINESS UNUSUAL. Business Unusual will have a global multiplatform release in early 2016, including a limited theatrical release. The 12-minute film, shot throughout Chicago and on location at the newly transformed Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel, boasts an impressive cast including Yoshua Sudarso (“Power Rangers Dino Charge”), Jason Gerhardt (“General Hospital,” ABC’s “Mistresses”), Grant Bowler (“Defiance,” “True Blood,” and “Ugly Betty”), Tia Carrere (“Wayne’s World”) and Brian Poli-Dixon (artist, actor, and former NFL receiver). Featured cameos from Chicago natives include Ozzie Guillen (former White Sox player), The O’My’s (Chicago-based band) and the world’s best parkour athletes and dancers from Substance Over Hype. A custom soundtrack that features local Chicago artists including The O’My’s will also accompany the film. On the heels of “French Kiss” and “Two Bellmen,” Business Unusual, written and directed by Daniel Malakai Cabrera & Caine Sinclair, is the third original short film produced by the Marriott Content Studio. Business Unusual centers around two ad executives and former colleagues, having just arrived in Chicago to compete against each other in a pitch. A pompous character, Chip, delivers the first pitch and receives extremely positive feedback from the clients. Following Chip’s seemingly successful presentation, David, (a less seasoned entrepreneur) nervously begins to present his pitch– when the client is suddenly called away to an emergency and is asked if he can finish the next day. David agrees and returns to his hotel. As he is anxiously preparing to revamp his pitch, the Navigator (Renaissance Hotels’ local concierge) persuades him to join other guests for an evening of discovery through beverage, food and local music in the hotel’s bar. Here he has a chance platonic encounter with a kind, wise, and successful woman named Ella. David finds his groove and is inspired to create an exceptionally fun and clever campaign, focused on the use of a Rube Goldberg machine that ultimately lands him the account. The Rube Goldberg machine in the film was designed by “America’s Got Talent” quarterfinalist Steve Price.
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2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List Revealed for 9th Cinema Eye Honors Awards

Ten nonfiction short films were announced today as finalists for the 2016 Cinema Eye Honors, the 9th edition of the largest annual celebration for and recognition of the nonfiction film artform and the creators of those films. The announcement of the 2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List was made on the opening day of the 2015 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a key festival partner of the Cinema Eye Honors. For the second year in a row, all ten films, which are among the most acclaimed short documentaries of the year, will screen this weekend at the 11th Annual Camden International Film Festival. This is the first time that all the filmmakers on the list have never been on the Shorts List before or a previous Cinema Eye nominee. This marks the fourth year that the CEH Shorts List has been announced in Camden. This January will mark the seventh year that CIFF hosts their annual reception on the eve of Cinema Eye’s award ceremony. A key part of Cinema Eye Week, a multi-day event held from January 10-13 in New York City in January 2016, the CIFF reception has become the largest single event for nonfiction film in the city and an important kickoff for the new year in the documentary community. From the ten finalists on this year’s Shorts List, five films will be named as nominees for the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking Award. Nominees in that category and nearly a dozen feature film categories will be announced on Wednesday, November 11 in Copenhagen, Denmark at CPH:DOX. Awards will be presented during Cinema Eye Honors on January 13, 2016, in New York City. This year’s ten finalists are: Body Team 12 (Liberia/USA) (pictured above) Directed by David Darg Born to Be Mild (UK) Directed by Andy Oxley The Breath (Switzerland) Directed by Fabian Kaiser Buffalo Juggalos (USA) Directed by Scott Cummings Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah (Canada) Directed by Adam Benzine The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul (Australia) Directed by Kitty Green Hotel 22 (USA) Directed by Elizabeth Lo {The And} Marcela & Rock (USA) Directed by Topaz Adizes The Solitude of Memory (Mexico/USA) Directed by Juan Pablo González Super-Unit (Poland) Directed by Teresa Czepiec
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Dustin Guy Defa’s Short Films to Get 1 Week Run at Film Society of Lincoln Center

The Film Society of Lincoln Center in NYC will feature a one-week run, from October 14 to 20, of short films by filmmaker Dustin Guy Defa under the theme Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa. “Good short films don’t get the attention that they deserve, which is all the more grievous as there are some terrific short films being made—and Defa is making many of them,” wrote Richard Brody (The New Yorker) in admiration of the director’s Person to Person, an official selection of last year’s New Directors/New Films and part of Local Color. “Put ’em together and it’s almost a feature release, which is what these richly thoughtful yet ultra-low-budget films merit.” In addition to Person to Person, Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa also includes Family Nightmare (2011), Declaration of War (2013), Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman (2013), and Review (2015), an official selection of the 53rd New York Film Festival. LOCAL COLOR: THE SHORT FILMS OF DUSTIN GUY DEFA FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS Declaration of War Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, digital projection, 7m Defa takes the piss out of Bush-era foreign policy as our then-President’s declaration of the War on Terror is met by an unrelenting standing ovation. Family Nightmare Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2011, HDCAM, 10m Defa delves into his family’s home-movie archive for this by turns bleak and funny but always moving Bosch-esque group portrait, an act of personal exorcism on VHS. Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, HDCAM, 15m After being dumped by her fed-up boyfriend (Josh Safdie), a young woman (Hannah Gross), allows an alluring stranger (Dakota Goldhor) to crash at her place, unwittingly opening a Pandora’s Box of insecurities and paranoia. Person to Person Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2014, HDCAM, 18m The morning after hosting a party, record-store clerk Benny (Bene Coopersmith) finds a stranger (Deragh Campbell) passed out on his floor; upon waking, she refuses to leave. A New Directors/New Films 2014 selection. Review Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2015, digital projection, 4m A young woman recounts a story to a group of friends who listen on with rapt attention, but the tale sounds very familiar… An NYFF53 selection.
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