Show Me Shorts Film Festival 10th Anniversary

SHOW ME SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 10TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME UNVEILED

Show Me Shorts Film Festival has announced the line-up for their 10th anniversary event, which takes place across the country from 11 November and, fittingly, includes ten world premieres.

The festival’s 40 top local and international shorts will be joined by six New Zealand music videos, to play in 22 cinemas across Aotearoa, from Dargaville to Stewart Island.

Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2015 launches at The Civic in Auckland on 11 November, when the winners of the Show Me Shorts Awards will also be announced. As New Zealand’s only Academy Awards® accredited film festival, the recipient of the coveted Lightbox Best Film Award will be eligible to enter the Oscars®.

The world premieres include local films Turtlebank Hustler starring Davida McKenzie; Whistle Blower - a drama about a netball umpire; James Cunningham’s animated bedtime story Accidents, Blunders and Calamities; haunted horror Restoration; sci-fi comedy Space Trash Men; and a frank Christchurch-made documentary about the dating app Grindr, The Grind.

International films making their world debut in the Festival include Swiss drama Harmony, about a beautiful woman who has a symbiotic relationship with her nine-year-old daughter; charming dramaOut of the Village about two siblings living in Ghana; Filipino family drama Balsa Wood, from the UK; and whimsical Canadian adventure story Erik and the Mystery Pack, about returning lost dogs to their owners. The countries represented in the programme include South Korea, Poland, Switzerland, Ireland, UK, Belgium, France, USA, India, Australia, Japan and Canada.

Festival Director Gina Dellabarca says, “This year we received around 1,000 entries and will screen in 22 cinemas - up from 300 entries and one cinema in the first competition back in 1996.

“Our programmers have had a difficult but rewarding job selecting the top 46 films. The calibre of both the New Zealand and international shorts this year was exceptionally high. We’re delighted to bring the work of these very talented filmmakers to audiences at cinemas across New Zealand in November.”

The films are shown in themed sections (outlined in attached document) and this year, for the first time, the Festival has an entire section devoted to New Zealand films.

Dellabarca says, “It’s a great way to discover talented new directors like Berlin-based New Zealander Ryan Heron (Return), as well as view the work of established auteurs such as Gregory David King (UFO).”

Every year the Festival attracts a highly regarded panel of judges. This year’s panel comprises actor, writer and director Peter Elliot (The Art of the Architect, Gloss, Shortland St), actor Siobhan Marshall (Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons, Shortland Street, The Blue Rose), film editor and screenwriter Cushla Dillon (Orhans and Kingdoms, Beautiful Machine, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives), and writer, director and actor – and the winner of Best Film (Dive) in the 2014 Show Me Shorts Film Festival – Matthew Saville (Kikia the Poa, Hitch Hike).

Additionally, this year Lightbox has announced its position as principal sponsor of the Festival. The agreement delivers 65 festival-quality local short films to thousands of Lightbox viewers who have embraced the concept of “anywhere, anytime” online television.

Lightbox CEO Kym Niblock says, “At Lightbox we love local and we are enormously proud to get behind New Zealand productions, both television and now film through the Show Me Shorts sponsorship. It’s important to support Kiwi content and we believe some of New Zealand’s best work is produced in the short film format. It’s an exciting programme.”

In the interests of bringing short film fans together, Show Me Shorts has a number of special events as part of the festival. The Opening Night & Awards Ceremony takes place on 11 November at The Civic in Auckland. A celebration launching the Wellington season then takes place on 19 November at Paramount Cinema.

Free Short Film Talks screenings, with filmmakers explaining how they made their films, will take place at ACG Yoobee School of Design in Auckland and Wellington.

Parents and teachers are also encouraged to introduce their children and students to the wonder of shorts by attending the My Generation section, which is recommended for families and children aged 8-yrs and above.

Audience members can vote for their favourite film to win the People’s Choice Award too, by completing the survey online or at cinema sessions.

Tickets will be on sale from the cinema venues next week.

Full programme information is available here: www.showmeshorts.co.nz/programme

ENDS

© Scoop Media