Friday, February 10, 2012

Call for submissions: Smartphone Film Challenge


The AmérAsia Film Festival has put out a call for submissions for its first ever Smartphone Film Challenge.

Participating filmmakers will have 72 hours to make a short film of up to four minutes to be made entirely on a smartphone and on a given theme. The theme will be revealed at the festival's opening night gala. The films will be uploaded to Youtube with fifteen films selected for screening during the festival. A five-member jury and public voting will decide the winners. Up for grabs is a $1,000 cash prize.

Filmmaker Christos Sourligas will provide mentoring to those taking part in the challenge. Sourligas' film Happy Slapping was the first feature-length movie to be shot entirely using Apple’s iPhone 4. It premiered in August at the Festival des Films du Monde.

The deadline for registration for the Smartphone Film Challenge is February 15. The third AmérAsia Film Festival runs from March 1-4 and 9-11 at various venues in Montreal.

http://www.amerasiafestival.com/2012/en/

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The AmérAsia Film Festival, presented by Ciné-Asie, is launching the Smartphone Film Challenge this year, with mentorship by independent Canadian filmmaker Christos Sourligas.


Amateur and professional filmmakers will be given 72 hours to produce and shoot the four-minute film, and the final cuts will be screened during the festival on March 9, 6:30 pm to midnight, at the Société des arts technologiques (SAT). The winning filmmakers will receive a cash prize of $1,000, as well as nationwide exposure through AmérAsia’s media partner, Radio Canada International.

To kick off the inaugural competition, AmérAsia has invited filmmaker Christos Sourligas to offer mentorship to participants. Last year Sourligas, whose credits include the award-winning Elephant Shoes, shot controversial feature film Happy Slapping entirely on a smartphone, a breakthrough for the medium (funding was provided by Telefilm Canada).

Participants can visit www.amerasiafestival.com to download the application form. The theme will be announced by Sourligas at the opening gala on March 1 at CinéRobothèque (NFB).

As well as the finalists’ films, the evening will feature a screening of Arirang by renowned Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk. Kim produced the autobiographical film, a tale of personal crisis, alone using only digital technology. It won the “Un Certain Regard” category at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.

Quebec video artist Patrick Bergeron, renowned for his special effects artistry in The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix, will present a video installation for Loop Loop, a collage of photos he shot portraying life in Vietnam. The gala evening will end with the 4th National Video Portrait Competition, in partnership with Vidéographe. The winner will receive a worldwide distribution deal and over $1,500 vouchers in production and post-production equipment hire. Participants are invited to explore the unique relationship between Canada and Asia by creating video portraits – this year’s theme is “family”.

Festival Director, and Ciné-Asie founder, Mi Jeong Lee says, “Chris Sourligas is the first person to make an award-winning feature-length film on a smartphone in Canada, so he will be a great guide for all our participants. Alongside the work of Kim Ki-duk and homegrown talent Patrick Bergeron, AmérAsia’s mission is to give a voice to the best of Asian-Canadian art house films.”

Boris Chassagne, Director-Coordinator at Radio Canada International, said: “Radio Canada International is proud to be AmerAsia’s principal media partner and to be part of the first Smartphone Film Challenge. Now more than ever, Canadians of all backgrounds have access to digital production. And this Smartphone Film Challenge will demonstrate what technology and individual creativity can produce.”

The third edition of the AmérAsia Film Festival takes place March 1-4 and 9-11 over two weekends at the SAT, CinéRobothèque (NFB), the Cinéma du Parc, Cinémathèque québécoise and Hotel Zero 1.

To register, click here.

http://www.amerasiafestival.com/2012/en/

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