Wednesday, May 13, 2009

International co-productions, Filminute style.

RT twae Looking to work with any @Filminute producers to turn one of my stories into digital polyester. Get in touch!

Twister Twae is based in London. However, with one-minute films, the international collaboration tend to be easy enough. We support and encourage them; please continue to use Filminute's Twitter page to shout out for collaborators.

Sound designers Taiwan, working with filmmakers in Finland. Editors in Brazil working with creative dirtectors in Russia. More collaborative mashups like these will produce new ways to tell a story, we're certain of that.

A thousand flowers blooming

The beauty and reach of "a thousand blossoms", and how these touch significant and appreciative audiences worldwide, is where we need filmmakers to focus their creativity.

Filmmaker and world citizen (India, Taiwan, New York City) Shashwati tweeted the following and in a few words captured so much about Filminute.
RT @Shashwati These folks are doing minute long films @Filminute (a thousand flowers blooming etc....)

Saturday, May 02, 2009

The Quick Recap

A one-minute view of the films of Filminute 2008:

A one-minute view of Filminute 2007:

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

What Makes a Great One-Minute Film? We revisit our favourite question.

As we kick off the Filminute 2009 Call For Entries, we thought it appropriate to revisit our favourite question "What makes a great one-minute film?" We selected some of the most illuminating answers from the Filminute jury, beginning with 2006 juror Ekow Eshun’s much-quoted response (part of a wider and very popular interview).

The insights and perspectives below will stir the imagination and will surely inspire a fresh wave of submissions to Filminute 2009!

EKOW ESHUN
  • A great one-minute film will last longer than a minute! Sometimes in a full-length film, you'll get one scene in the film that resonates beyond the length of the full film. The one-minute film is the reverse of that, in one minute, a great one-minute film will capture an idea that stays with you far beyond one-minute. - Ekow Eshun, Artistic Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts (London) and Filminute 2006 Juror
KLAUS EDER
  • A good film, short or long, should show me something about our (inner and outer) world which I didn't know. As well, it should concern me, hit me emotionally - Klaus Eder, FIPRESCI General Secretary and Filminute 2008 Juror
ANDREA DITTGEN
  • A great one-minute film has one surprising moment that changes your perception - just like the very first movies made in the 19th century. – Dr. Andrea Dittgen, Head of the German Film Critics Association and Filminute 2008 Juror
CRAIG DAVIS
  • [A great one-minute film is] something that makes you lean forward and want to get involved. Something that resonates and lingers. Something that leaves you with the feeling of needing to be satiated by another episode. Something you can discuss as opposed to consume. – Craig Davis, JWT Chief Creative Officer Worldwide, Filminute 2006 Juror
PAUL HAGGIS (in reference to one of his 2008 Jury commendations)
  • The film made me ask uncomfortable questions, and it made rethink something I thought I knew. That is quite an accomplishment for any film -- but to do all that in one minute? That is the art. – Paul Haggis, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, producer and film director, Filminute 2008 juror.

Monday, October 13, 2008

FILMINUTE 2008 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

- PRESS RELEASE -

UK ANIMATION WINS BEST FILMINUTE
Top honours also go to Hungarian and Romanian productions at Filminute international one-minute film festival

LONDON/BUCHAREST, 12 October 2008 — Maniacally competitive sock puppets, an innocent take on the proverbial “quickie,” and a sci-fi rendering of the wonders of antacid take top honours at Filminute, the international one-minute film festival. The 2008 Filminute Awards were announced today at a live event at the Orange Concept Store in Bucharest and on a televised special on ShortsTV in Europe.

Filminute’s seven-member international jury awarded the Best Filminute to UK director Oli Hyatt’s animated romp STITCHUP SHOWDOWN – GYM JAM. Produced by Blue-Zoo and Nickelodeon, Hyatt’s animated film features sock puppet warriors in a death-defying gym work out.

Determined by a worldwide audience from more than 90 countries, Filminute’s People’s Choice Award goes to Hungarian director Pici Papai’s QUICK, which looks at an adult relationship through the eyes of children.

This year’s Top-Rated film is IMMERSE, the animated, Romanian/UK co-production directed by Anton Groves. A nano-technological take on acid-reflux relief, IMMERSE scored 4.2 stars out of a possible 5. A repeat winner at Filminute, Anton Groves won Best Filminute in 2006 with the one-minute film Line.












The Filminute 2008 Jury is also responsible for the presentation of five jury commendations. The nods from the jury went to:

NEW ORLEANS FOR SALE,
directed by Brandan Odums, USA
THE HOBBYIST, directed by Justin Waite, UK
BELGRADE, directed by Mark Nava, Serbia/USA
RAHIM MURGE PE MAT RO, directed by Devashish Makhija, Rajat Nagpal, India
BIRTHDAY PRESENT, directed by Markus Virpio, Finland

The 2008 winners were selected from the Filminute line up of 25 films from 16 countries which were shortlisted after a review of more than 1500 films, animations, and mashups.

The 2008 Filminute jury was comprised of
  • Academy Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby)
  • David Kennedy, co-founder of the Wieden + Kennedy advertising agency
  • Dr. Andrea Dittgen, editor of the German daily, Die Rheinpfalz, and board member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics); award-winning novelist and journalist
  • Francisco Goldman (The Long Night of the White Chickens, The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?)
  • Taketo Oguchi, editor-in-chief and publisher of Japan’s SHIFT magazine; and Filminute co-founders John Ketchum and Sabaa Quao.
“It’s remarkable to have an animated film win against the live action and documentary entries,” says Ketchum, head of the jury. “We’ve always believed in the Filminute format, in letting all the films go head to head against each other and may the best story win. And here we have it with STITCHUP SHOWDOWN – GYM JAM, a film that appeared on the majority of the juror’s selects and also lead in the voting for the People’s Choice Award at various points during the month.

“No country has a monopoly on good stories, and the People’s Choice award winner, QUICK, helps affirm that belief,”
says Quao “The film jockeyed for position against RAHIM MURGE, STITCHUP SHOWDOWN, and SUPPORT from mid-September right through to the finish. That’s Hungary, up against India, the UK, and Iceland. The breadth of voters beyond just local fans in Hungary made the difference and that speaks to the quality of the story and to the film’s international appeal. You’ll see new details in the story each time you watch QUICK and you begin to appreciate the mastery of the director in delivering that film in one take.”

The 2008 edition of Filminute has been an unprecedented success, with audiences from 94 countries logging on to the main Festival site to view the collection of one-minute films. The online audiences, combined with the views of the site from broadband publishers, television specials in France, Belgium, Luxembourg (with ShortsTV France) and Romania (PrimaTV), and digital installations, cinema screenings, and mobile downloads at Selfridges in London, amount to close to thee million views of the films and related content. Filminute also launched its own network on the Adobe Media Player which festival organizers point to as an important broadband channel for future development.

The fourth edition of Filminute will be held September 1 through 30, 2009. The submission deadline is August 20, 2009.

Founded in 2006 by John Ketchum and Sabaa Quao, Filminute is a unique and truly international film festival. Filminute has vaulted past its online beginning and become a truly cross-platform media and entertainment property. The 2008 edition of Filminute held live events in Bucharest and cinematic screenings in London. Filminute’s international television broadcast properties are hosted by Peter Shinkoda, from Vancouver, Canada, with segments produced around the globe. Filminute thrives with minimal infrastructure, employing a handful of staffers based in Bucharest, London, Toronto and Vancouver.

Quao pointed to the sponsors as being a major factor in enabling Filminute to expand its global reach. Content delivery was provided by Limelight Networks which, having just streamed coverage of the Olympic Games for NBC, is one of the world’s most robust content delivery networks. The marquee screening venue in London was provided by Selfridges department store, which showcased Filminute in a customized cinema in the Ultralounge and a digital installation at the Wonder Wall.

Ketchum and Quao thanked all of Filminute’s sponsors and underlined the support of Selfridges, Limelight Networks, Adbeast and Orange.

The winning films and the complete Filminute shortlist can be viewed at www.filminute.com

Fun Filminute Facts
  • A worldwide audience from 94 countries watched one-minute films and related content at Filminute.com and partner sites close to three million times.
  • On average, a request to view a film was made every 20 seconds.
  • Traffic to www.filminute.com came from the continents as follows: 55% Europe, 31% North America, 12% Asian traffic to the site.
  • Tuesday was the most popular day to watch one-minute films.
  • The most popular time of day to watch one-minute films at www.filminute.com was 10AM in Los Angeles (1PM in New York, 6PM in London, 7PM in Zurich, and 10:30PM in Mumbai), leaving Filminute organizers to ponder whether one-minute films go best with morning coffee breaks, lunchtime distraction, or after-dinner discussions.
  • Top 12 One-Minute Film Fanatical Cities: 1-Bucharest; 2-London; 3-Budapest; 4-Vancouver; 5-Toronto; 6-Zurich; 7-Montreal; 8-Frankfurt; 9-Berlin; 10-Los Angeles; 11-Delhi; 12-Mumbai
  • Top 12 One-Minute Film Fanatical Countries: 1-Romania; 2-USA; 3-Canada; 4-Germany; 5-UK; 6-Hungary; 7-India; 8-Slovakia; 9-Russia; 10-Switzerland; 11-Spain; 12-France
View the main Filminute site and winning films at http://www.filminute.com

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Jury and Public Commentary on Filminute 2008

COMING SOON

FILMINUTE 2008 PHOTOGALLERY


MORE IMAGES FROM FILMINUTE 2008 AND THE AWARDS SHOW
COMING SOON

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Filminute launches 2 shows on the Adobe Media Player

We are very pleased to be on the Adobe Media Player broadband broadcast platform. Filminute can now broadcast "shows". We have launched with two shows.

The first show individually presents the 25 films shortlisted at Filminute 2008.

The second show is provides some of the background behind Filminute. Starting off from Vancouver with host Peter Shinkoda, we jump to Bucharest then London for brief comments from the Filminute's Co-Executive Directors John Ketchum and Sabaa Quao. The commentary is interspersed by presentation of 5 films at a time until the full shortlist of 25 films from Filminute 2008 have been shown. Here's a snapshot of the Adobe Media Player interface.





Saturday, September 27, 2008

Event at ORANGE concept store

INVITATIONS to the Filminute Festival event at the
ORANGE Concept Store, Bucharest.

video