Los Angeles, August 19, 2013 – TheWrap.com is pleased to announce the finalists for its second annual “ShortList” Online Film festival, August 19-August 29, 2013.
The 12 distinguished finalists include shorts prize winners from the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and the LA Film Festival, and come from the United States, Spain, Ecuador, Israel and elsewhere around the globe.
“We are thrilled to honor 12 of the most interesting, creative and inventive short films of the past year. We hope this festival allows many more viewers to see some of the most exciting new work in filmmaking,” stated Sharon Waxman, CEO of TheWrap.com.
The shorts are available immediately and screen exclusively for an online voting audience on http://shortlistfilmfestival.com starting today through August 29.
“The ShortList” showcases 12 award-winning short films hand-picked from world’s top film festivals of the past year. The shorts are hosted on TheWrap.com’s website and through its mobile platform and will also be available on MTV’s film sites Film.com and Nextmovie.com.
Prizes include the opportunity for the winners’ short to be aired on an MTV network and a first-look deal with the independent movie studio Cinedigm. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on August 29 on the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot in Los Angeles.
Sponsors of the festival include MTV and Cinedigm. TheWrap also thanks Sony Pictures Entertainment for its generous support of The ShortList.
Ireland, 9 min
A bird with a fear of flying tries to avoid heading South for the winter.
Best Animated Short Film, Galway Film Fleadh 2012
Best Animated Short Film, LA Shorts Fest 2012
THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Directed by Will Anderson
UK, 16 min
A ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at an Animator/Filmmaker as he struggles with his character.
BAFTA 2013 – Short Animation
British Academy Scotland Awards – Best Animation
THE PUB Directed by Joseph Pierce
UK, 8 min
A day caught up in the murky slipstream of a North London pub.
Curtocircuito, Santiago de Compostela ’12 – Best International Animation
Los Angeles Film Festival ’12 – Best Experimental Short
WHAT DO WE HAVE IN OUR POCKETS? Directed by Goran Dukic
Israel/USA, 4 min
A most unusual love story unravels when the objects in a young man’s pockets come to life.
Best Script in a Short, 2013 Nantucket Film Festival
Narrative Fiction
BLACK METAL Directed by Kat Candler
USA, 9 min
After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, the actions of one fan create a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band.
Short Grand Jury Prize, 2013 Dallas International Film Festival
Grand Jury, Narrative Short, 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival
CAFÉ REGULAR, CAIRO Directed by Ritesh Batra
Egypt, 11 min
After two years together, Alaa and Mai encounter the first big crisis in their relationship in a café in Cairo. In this city, always changing and always relentless, the old and the new clash and anything might be possible.
FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the International Film Festival of Oberhausen, 2012
MAGNESIUM Directed by Sam de Jong
Netherlands, 20 min
A talented gymnast makes a life-changing discovery as she prepares for an important tournament, which is her last chance to reach the top.
Tuschinski Award, 2012 Netherlands Film Festival
UNTIL THE QUIET COMES Directed by Kahlil Joseph
USA, 4 min
Shot in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects in Watts, Los Angeles, this film deals with themes of violence, camaraderie, and spirituality through the lens of magical realism.
Special Jury Prize, 2013 Sundance Film Festival
VOICE OVER Directed by Martin Rosete
Spain, 10 min
I won’t tell you whose voice over leads us through three extreme situations that are actually the same. Will you survive?
Chicago International Film Festival, Silver Plaque
New York City Short Film Festival, Best of the Fest
Fiction / Doc
CATNIP: EGRESS TO OBLIVION? Directed by Jason Willis
USA, 7 min
Catnip is all the rage with today’s modern feline, but do we really understand it? This film frankly discusses the facts about this controversial substance.
YouTube Audience Award, 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Documentary
THE LAST ICE MERCHANT Directed by Sandy Patch
Ecuador, 14 min
For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo. His brothers, both raised as ice merchants, have long since retired from the mountain. This is a story of cultural change and how three brothers have adapted to it.
Best Short Documentary, 2012 Woodstock Film Festival
Best Short Documentary, 2012 Woods Hole Film Festival
Best Short Film, 2013 Independent Film Festival BostonWHATEVEREST Directed by Kristoffer Borgli
Norway, 16 min
A documentary about the unlikely inspiration behind a dance tune produced by Todd Terje called “Inspector Norse”. “Inspector Norse” is the internet alias of Marius Solem Johansen, a failed musician living in a small town, producing dance videos and drug recipes for YouTube.
SPECIAL JURY AWARD AT AFI FEST 2012
The 2013 festival is programmed by Mike Plante, shorts programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and a veteran programmer there and for CineVegas. Subscribers to TheWrap’s First Take newsletter (http://thewrap.us1.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=4300eb945fab9dc8942c198f…) will receive one entry per day embedded in their morning email, where they can vote. Viewers can also screen the films at any time during the festival: http://shortlistfilmfestival.com and vote from August 19 – 29.
About The ShortList:
The ShortList (http://shortlistfilmfestival.com) represents the best of the best of filmmaking in the format that young filmmakers and enthusiasts use most often: shorts. The ShortList showcases 12 award-winning short films hand-picked from world’s top film festivals of the past year. An Audience Award is chosen by viewers’ online votes and a Jury Prize is chosen by the Industry jury, a six-person panel of veteran independent film professionals. Winning films will be announced at a special live event on August 29 in Los Angeles and will air on an MTV Networks’ film channel.
About The Wrap News Inc.:
The Wrap News Inc., founded by award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009, is the leading digital news organization covering the business of entertainment and media. As a multi-platform media company, The Wrap News Inc. is comprised ofTheWrap.com, the award-winning, industry-leading outlet for high-profile newsbreaks, investigative stories and authoritative analysis; PowerGrid Pro, the most current, relevant film development database; ThePowerGrid , an algorithmic, data-driven ranking system for every person, project and company in the film business; and TheGrill, an executive leadership conference centered on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology. The Wrap News, Inc. is backed by Maveron, a venture capital firm based in Seattle, Washington and co-founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan.
TheWrap was nominated as the Best Entertainment website in 2012 and named the best online news site in both 2012 and 2009 at the National Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club. It has won many other awards for investigative reporting, columns, criticism and feature writing. TheWrap was named one of the “100 Most Important Online Publishers” in 2010 by OMMA, the magazine of online media, marketing and advertising.
About MTV:
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For more information, go to http://www.mtvpress.com.
About Cinedigm:
Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) is a leader in providing the services, experience, technology and content critical to transforming movie theaters into digital and networked entertainment centers. The Company partners with Hollywood movie studios, independent movie distributors, and exhibitors to bring movies in digital cinema format to audiences across the country. Cinedigm’s digital cinema deployment organization, state of the art distributor and exhibition software, and marketing and distribution platform for alternative content and independent films are a cornerstone of the industry’s digital cinema transformation. With the April acquisition of New Video, the world’s largest aggregator of independent digital content and leading distributor of quality entertainment, CIDM has created a new full service end-to-end digital studio, enabling the Company to acquire and distribute independent films and specialty content both theatrically and via digital, mobile and home media platforms. www.cinedigm.com. CIDM-G