$5000 prize offered for Best Short Film!

Show Me Shorts has scored an exciting sponsorship deal from premium liquor brand Jameson Irish Whiskey. Owned and marketed by Pernod Ricard, Jameson Irish Whiskey is a premium range of Irish whiskeys with a 220 year heritage and strong links to the film industry world wide.

This strategic partnership means the winner of the Jameson Best Film category will receive the very useful prize of $5,000 cash.

Jameson Irish Whiskey will also sponsor the opening night, hosting a celebration to launch the festival.

Business Director Tamara Liebman says, “To have landed such a great deal in only our first year is a huge coup. Jameson sponsors prestigious film festivals such as Cannes and Tribecca in New York. It also supports festivals in Ireland, Greece, South Africa and Thailand. It has sponsored short film festivals and short film awards in different parts of the globe for several years and works in partnership with a number of screen stars.”

This partnership will allow us to provide a higher level of entertainment, excitement and a more enjoyable experience at the festival right from the beginning. It is gratifying that Jameson Irish Whiskey supports our vision for Show Me Shorts and wants to be part of delivering that to the public. This serves to reinforce our belief that there is a strong audience already looking forward to the Jameson Show Me Shorts Film Festival.”

Grant Lahood, who has had two short films screen at Cannes says, "Awards are a great recognition of excellence and encourage film makers to strive for high production values and inventive story telling. When it comes to prizes, cash is king. The industry is very supportive of short film makers, but you can't get sponsorship for everything, so I'm sure the winner will find $5,000 cash very useful for their next project."

Programming Director Katrin Hagen is too busy for comment at this time, processing and viewing around 350 entries for the festival. The team is in celebration mode already, having received almost twice as many short films as anticipated. “It’s another good indicator of the diversity and high level of quality the Jameson Show Me Shorts Film Festival will be able to provide,” says Liebman.

Hagen does let slip that the balance of entries which was heavily in favour of Australia has now tipped more evenly, so the fight for top honors will be a battle worth seeing!

Other prizes confirmed so far include $1,500 in film processing from Atlab New Zealand, and two nights accommodation in any Scenic Circle Hotel. The award categories include Jameson Best Film, Best Student Film, Best Technical Contribution, and a Special Jury Prize.

The Jameson Show Me Shorts Film Festival is New Zealand’s only trans-Tasman short film festival. The event will take place over three nights and two days from the 24th to 26th of November 2006 at Auckland’s Academy Cinemas.

Thanks to our sponsors and partners Jameson Irish Whiskey, DVDesign, Academy Cinemas, Alliott Thompson Francis Ltd Chartered Accountants, Star Publicity, the St Kilda Film Festival, Atlab New Zealand, Scenic Circle Hotels and Creative Communities.

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