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

Jury and Public Commentary on Filminute 2008

COMING SOON

FILMINUTE 2008 PHOTOGALLERY

MORE IMAGES FROM FILMINUTE 2008 AND THE AWARDS SHOW

COMING SOON

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.

Event at ORANGE concept store

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

blog.wired.com posting #2

Wired.com's Pick From Filminute's Microvideo Short-List
By Hugh Hart September 03, 2008 | 4:20:00 PM
Categories: DIY, Movies, Video

EXCERPT: "The Filminute 2008 Shortlist, posted Monday, showcases the cream of the crop, submitted by filmmakers from Europe, Russia, India, Iran, China and North America."

"Here are Wired.com's short takes on Filminute's short movie standouts." Read more.

Welcome to Filminute 2008

Congratulations to the directors, producers, cast, and crew of these 25 films. 16 countries are represented on the Filminute shortlist this year.

THE FILMINUTE 2008 SHORTLIST

BELGRADE
DIRECTOR: Mark Nava
SERBIA / USA

BIRTHDAY PRESENT
DIRECTOR: Markus Virpio
FINLAND

BRATYSLAVA BOYS
DIRECTOR: Michal Vasilko Kele
SLOVAKIA

FACES
DIRECTOR: Anton Sokolov
RUSSIA

FEAR
DIRECTOR: Maziyar Tehrani
IRAN

FLICKER
DIRECTOR: Hamish Anderson
UK

FOTO LA MINUT
DIRECTOR: Catalin Leescu
ROMANIA

GOOD MORNING
DIRECTOR: BU Kang Il
KOREA / USA

THE HOBBYIST
DIRECTOR: Justin Waite
UK

HONEY & BUBBLES
DIRECTOR: Antoine Breton
CHINA

IMMERSE
DIRECTOR: Anton Groves
ROMANIA / UK

KEEPING A DIARY SUPPORTS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR: Stefan Sagmeister
USA

LITTLE DINOSAURS
DIRECTOR: Dana Dorian
SCOTLAND

LOVEFIELD
DIRECTOR: Mathieu Ratthé
CANADA

THE MURDER
DIRECTOR: Cristian Smeu
ROMANIA

NAKED TRUTH
DIRECTOR: Robert Sveda
SLOVAKIA

NATURALEZA MUERTA
DIRECTOR: Benjamin Lee Gordon
SPAIN

NEW ORLEANS FOR SALE!
DIRECTOR: Brandan Odums
USA

NICK & KATE
DIRECTOR: Matthew Mishory
USA

QUICK
DIRECTOR: Pici Papai
HUNGARY

RAHIM URGE PE MAT RO
DIRECTORS: Devashish Makhija, Rajat Nagpal
INDIA

THE STAIRCASE
DIRECTOR: George Mangalath Thomas
INDIA

STITCHUP SHOWDOWN - GYM JAM
DIRECTOR: Oli Hyatt
UK

SUPPORT
Borkur Sigthorsson
ICELAND

WALL STREET
DIRECTOR: Gary Leib
USA

Throughout September, we invite you to view, rate, and comment on these films at www.filminute.com. On the site, you may also nominate your favourite film for the People's Choice award. You have one vote.

In parallel, the Filminute jury will award one film as "Best Filminute" and will also recognise five films with jury commendations.

"FORGET VENICE!", Selfridges says.

Filminute, the international one-minute film festival, kicks off on Monday, September 1 and is set to witness its most successful edition yet.

Filminute at Selfridges runs 1 September – 19 October

• 1 Sept – 21 Sept in the Ultralounge, lower ground floor, Selfridges Oxford Street – London

• 7 Sept – 19 Oct in Selfridges’ Wonder Wall, ground floor in the Wonder Room, Oxford Street – London

• All 2008 selected films also shown on filminute.com from 1 September

• Admission free

• Opening times (during store hours): Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 8pm – Thursday until 9pm - Sunday noon to 6pm

• 25 films shown in the Ultralounge non-stop (all the films in competition – exclusively)

• Votes can be cast in the Ultralounge or online at filminute.com

• 2 main prizes to be awarded (Best Filminute Award and People’s Choice Award)

• 12 October - winners are announced

August 26 PRESS RELEASE

LONDON/VANCOUVER, August 26, 2008 – Throughout the month of September, Filminute, the international one-minute film festival, will present an extraordinary array of 25 films from 16 countries, it was announced today by Filminute co-founders and executive directors John Ketchum and Sabaa Quao.

From September 1 through 30, festival-goers around the globe will screen, rate and vote on this year’s selection of 25 one-minute films at www.filminute.com. Filminute festival is complemented by broadband and conventional broadcasts, mobile screenings, and cinema and digital installations in London, Bucharest, and Toronto.

In making this year’s selection, Filminute programmers screened more than 1500 films and animations from 60 countries (an increase of 33 percent over last year, when films were submitted from 45 countries). Twenty-five films representing 16 countries have been selected for this year’s Filminute festival. Titles will be announced when the festival edition of the website goes live on September 1.

The third edition of Filminute will, once again, showcase films from Canada, China, Finland, India, Iran, Romania, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Films from Hungary, Iceland, Korea, Scotland, Serbia, and Slovakia are represented this year for the first time.

In addition to the “Best Filminute” jury prize and commendations, as determined by Filminute’s distinguished jury, the public is invited to vote for its Festival favorite and selects the “People’s Choice” winner. The Filminute awards are announced on October 12.

Organizers noted a surge in submissions from Eastern Europe, India and the U.S. and offer several possible explanations for the increase: the winners of the first two editions of Filminute were from Eastern Europe, and last year ten per cent of the festival’s site traffic came from India. As well, Sabaa Quao says, “The U.S. seems to have jumped on the idea of Filminute after the format and the genre have proven wildly successful in the rest of the world. The consistently strong international jury also continues to raise eyebrows and attract filmmakers.”

John Ketchum added that there was an increase in both the quantity and quality of films screened this year. “This year witnessed a marked increase in the number of films submitted by experienced filmmakers and production firms. This has resulted in a significant jump in the quality of cinematography, music scoring and sound design. Add to this the dramatic rise in the number of films featuring professional actors and you have the makings of a very exciting collection for Filminute audiences worldwide.”

2007 was a banner year for Filminute, with an audience from more than 90 countries enjoying over two million individual screenings of one-minute films. Filminute 2008 promises to be even more successful, and organizers are predicting that audiences in more than 100 countries will view up to a cumulative 10 million minutes of film from this year’s selection. Coming even close would confirm Filminute’s status as the world’s largest film festival, in terms of audience size.

More information and full details are available at www.filminute.com.

blog.wired.com posting

Filminute's Attack of the International Supershorts
By Hugh Hart August 25, 2008 | 11:50:47 AM
Categories: DIY, Movies, Video, Viral, Web/Tech

If those sprawling three-minute YouTube clips seem to drag on forever, Filminute, "the international one-minute film festival," might be right up your alley. Read more.

Selfridges, website posting

LONDON - MONDAY 1 SEP 2008
Filminute
WHAT MAKES A GREAT ONE-MINUTE FILM?
That is precisely the question that Filminute puts to filmmakers, writers, animators, artists, designers, and creative producers worldwide.
http://www.selfridges.com/index.cfm?page=1316&articleID=11189&artname=Filminute

Selfridges, London screenings

MILLION DOLLAR BABY DIRECTOR ON JURY OF THE BIGGEST SHORTS FESTIVAL
Paul Haggis is 2008 jury member of Filminute – the world’s most successful short films festival, staged in Selfridges.

Filminute at Selfridges runs 1 September – 19 October
• 1 Sept – 21 Sept in the Ultralounge, lower ground floor, Selfridges Oxford Street – London
• 7 Sept – 19 Oct in Selfridges’ Wonder Wall, ground floor in the Wonder Room, Oxford Street -
London
• Admission free
• Opening times (during store hours): Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 8pm – Thursday until 9pm - Sunday noon to 6pm
• Votes can be cast on site
• 12 October - winners are announced
---

Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning director of Crash and Million Dollar Baby is one of the jury members about to review the films in competition in Filminute, the world’s largest and snappiest short films festival. His backing of Filminute re-inforces the growing status of this young festival and comes after Michael Ondaatje’s (The English Patient) own jury participation in 2007.

Selfridges is proud to support Filminute by providing the UK’s only venue in which all competing films can be watched, reviewed and appraised. The Ultralounge will be transformed into a fully-fledged cinema complete with plush seating and a huge screen, while the films will also be shown in Selfridges’ Wonder Wall, the showcase of intriguing artifacts and rare private collections situated in the store’s Wonder Room.

Filminute, now in its third year, is the international one-minute film festival dedicated to presenting, promoting, and awarding the world’s best one-minute films. The unique one-minute film festival format also has the particularity to have been created for the digital age. Originally born as an online only festival, in 2008 the event reaches out to a multiplicity of platforms, including television, mobile screens and movie theatres. In the UK, however, only filminute.com and Selfridges are showing all the films in competition.

Each September, 25 shortlisted films vie for jury-awarded Best Filminute honours as well as the People’s Choice award voted exclusively by film viewers around the world. Filminute’s inaugural year in September 2006 confirmed worldwide interest in the content and presentation of one-minute films as it attracted an unexpectedly high number of both submissions and votes internationally. This year, Filminute predicts that entries will come from over 60 countries, up 25% on 2007, and that audiences in more than 100 countries will view up to a cumulative 10 million minutes of film from the 25-strong selection in competition.

This would not only confirm Filminute as the most successful short films festival in the world but it would also officially place it among the three largest film festivals by measure of audience size and participation, alongside the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. Since its inception, Filminute has broken into the top 1% ranking of the most hit website during its autumnal festival period (as measured by Alexa.com, one of the most respected online monitoring companies in the world).

Filminute is open to all and accepts all entries on any subject – the only gold standard requirement is the one-minute duration of each film from the first frame to the last. The films are shortlisted down to 25 on the basis content quality, storyline and originality. Entry submission time ends at midnight on 20 August with the jury and the viewers voting process running from 1 September to 30 September. The results will be officially announced on 12 October.

###

TimeOut Bucharest, John Ketchum Interview

John Ketchum, Filminute's co-founder, Head of Jury, and Bucharest resident, is featured in the current edition of TimeOut Bucharest (25-31 July). The article is in Romanian.

The Times, Zimbabwe

The Times (Zimbabwe)
Hot Thangs - This week’s must-do

Variety, Festival Focus

Click here to read the full article that appeared in the "Festival Focus" section of Variety online.

PRESS RELEASE, July 8, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FILMINUTE, THE INTERNATIONAL ONE-MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL
Filminute names Paul Haggis, Francisco Goldman, David Kennedy, Andrea Dittgen and Taketo Oguchi to 2008 jury

LONDON, UK, July 8, 2008 – The jury for this year’s edition of Filminute was announced today by Festival founders and executive directors, John Ketchum and Sabaa Quao. The third annual edition of Filminute, the international festival that showcases, awards and promotes the best one-minute films from around the world, runs September 1 through 30, 2008.

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 principals Ketchum and Quao will adjudicate this year’s selection of one-minute films.

As Head of Jury, Ketchum says “We’re absolutely thrilled with the calibre, diversity and geographic spread of this year’s Filminute jury. Filmmakers from around the world will be encouraged to know that this year’s films will be judged by screen and fiction writing heavyweights Paul Haggis and Francisco Goldman as well as by the experienced, critical eye of FIPRESCI’s Andrea Dittgen. David Kennedy and Taketo Oguchi’s jury presence highlights the importance of the growing community of filmmakers submitting films to Filminute, hailing from a wide variety of creative disciplines.

“A jury like this will strengthen the world’s understanding of what makes a great one-minute film and provide an excellent comparison and contrast to the selection of the People’s Choice award by the voting public.”

Filminute is accepting entries until August 20, 2008. Throughout the month of September, festival-goers around the globe will screen, rate and vote on this year’s selection of 25 one-minute films at www.filminute.com, via mobile, on television and at public? screening installations in London, Bucharest, and Toronto. In addition to the “Best Filminute” jury prize and commendations, the public is invited to vote for its Festival favorite and selects the “People’s Choice” winner. The Filminute awards are announced in October.

2007 was a banner year for Filminute, with an audience from more than 90 countries enjoying over two million individual screenings of one-minute films. Ketchum says, “Filminute is designed to work across multiple media and to inspire filmmakers worldwide. Filminute 2008's expansion to television, combined with the festival’s sustained international momentum, will make this year's festival the biggest and best yet.”

Filminute is truly an international event. Founded by Quao and Ketchum, both Canadians living abroad, the event has been decentralized since its inception. Filminute’s head office is in London, UK, where Quao is based, while planning and operations, led by Ketchum, are centred in Bucharest, Romania. In Canada, television production and publicity activities are managed out of Vancouver, and web development and design are spearheaded in Toronto.

Quao explains Filminute’s international scope and growth: “We secured what the Festival needed based on where we had built the best relationships. In Vancouver, we benefit from West Coast industry access. London relationships bring investment weight and are the hub of our business development activities. The software being used to create a unique broadcast and broadband presentation for Filminute is developed in Oxford and Helsinki.

“The best stories, the best films and our most passionate audiences could come from anywhere,” says Quao. “With submissions from over 45 countries last year, we’ve proven our point. The Best Filminute winner in 2007 was from Bulgaria, and this didn’t faze our audiences in any way. Last year’s winner generated votes across the board and this confirms Filminute’s belief that we can and will continue to upend assumptions on where the greatest one-minute films come from. Russia, Romania, Finland, India, Argentina, Canada and the UK have all produced films that audiences everywhere raved about on Filminute.”

Filminute has also developed a number of unique relationships with an array of international corporations and organizations. This year, adbeast Inc., a leading provider of online digital asset management and collaboration tools, is expanding its involvement with Filminute. Once again, in conjunction with Filminute, Friends of the Earth is promoting a One-Minute Film Competition for films with environmental themes. In the UK, the flagship Selfridges department store in London will host Filminute’s interactive screening and media presentation space at the Wonder Wall. In Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum’s Institute for Contemporary Culture will also program a live Filminute event supported by a discussion around the impact and relevance of one-minute films.

Filminute is also producing a television broadcast property that will be presented internationally via broadband and conventional broadcast partners. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Filminute is currently accepting entries. To be eligible for Filminute, films must be broadcast-quality and exactly 60 seconds in total running time, including titles and credits. Submissions for the 2008 edition will be accepted until midnight (PST), August 20, 2008. Films selected for Filminute will be available for viewing at www.filminute.com beginning September 1.

More information and full details are available at www.filminute.com. Over 20 foreign-language translations of Filminute’s call for entries are available at http://www.filminute.com/2008/translations.php

Friends of the Earth

Filminute is pleased to renew its association with the UK-based Friends of the Earth One Minute Film Competition. They are assembling another strong jury for 2008. Narrative-based films submitted to the Friends of the Earth competition are eligible for submission to Filminute.

In 2007, the film Polar Bears was featured in both competitions. Polar Bears generated over a half million screenings. Visit the Friends of the Earth site and view commentary and clips from luminaries such as David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman Animation (Chicken Run, and Wallace & Gromit) and producer Andrew Macdonald (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland).


http://www.foe.co.uk/oneminute

EYE WEEKLY (Canada)

During the Call for Entry period, Canada’s EYEWEEKLY.com will soon launch the Eye Weekly Canadian Series, a collection of Canadian one-minute film submissions to Filminute accompanied by director statements and other interactive elements. New films will be added frequently throughout the summer.

International exposure

Filminute seeks out and promotes the best one-minute films the world has to offer: engaging, entertaining & provocative works that resonate well beyond the 60-second viewing.

Filminute 2007 was a banner year, with over 2 million individual screenings of one-minute films. 2008 promises to be bigger. Can we hit 10 million screenings? Very likely.

Already, more than 35 news, media, and entertainment organizations have signed on to cover Filminute 2008 this September. We expect the number of participating newspapers and media to grow significantly over the coming months and look forward to the initiative helping this year’s films and filmmakers reach new and important audiences around the world.

Filmmakers, creative directors, artists, animators, writers, and all: submit your film before August 20, 2008 to be eligible for Filminute 2008.

Three Takes on "What Makes a Great One-Minute Film?"

The best one-minute films excel in the areas of story, character development, sound design, camera, setting, dialogue and editing and, in so doing, are able to “resonate” beyond one-minute.

At the same time, Filminute looks to challenge and strengthen our understanding of the one-minute film niche by getting as many answers as we can to our favourite question: “What makes a great one-minute film?”

Here are three takes on the answer from past Filminute jurors.

• “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. The one-minute film is like a stained glass window: in one frame, in that one shot, you get the world.” — Ekow Eshun, Artistic Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

• “A good film, short or long, should show me something about our (inner and outer) world that I didn't know. As well, it should concern me, hit me emotionally – films work via emotions. A good film becomes a great film if it manages to additionally build up an own filmic universe, one of an original and poetical beauty.” — Klaus Eder, General Secretary, FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)

• “The only thing that separates a great film from a great one-minute film is length. Great stories make great films. They call on all our senses to create a fiction truer than fact that enchants us with mystery, sensuality and intimacy. In the final analysis, a great film is one that makes us feel more alive.” — Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

Filminute's Interview with Palme D'or Winner Cristian Mungiu

In May of 2007, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the prestigious Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival. The story of two university students who try to arrange an illegal abortion in the dying days of Ceausescu's Romania, has gone on to win numerous other prizes around the world (including FIPRESCI film of the year) as well as rave reviews from critics including Variety magazine's Jay Weissberg who praised it as "pitch perfect and brilliantly acted...a stunning achievement."

Like many feature filmmakers, Mungiu also makes short films and commercials and is a fan of Filminute. He recently agreed to answer some of our favourite questions.

Filminute encourages filmmakers to pursue creation of one-minute films at the same quality standard we might demand or expect of a full length film or animation. Mungiu added:

• "Not every 60 seconds of moving images are film" and that distinction is one we ask our filmmakers to reflect upon.

Cristian Mungiu’s Comments about Filminute:
When I look at the Filminute shortlist, I see a great deal of diversity which is good. A few had humor, some others had impressive pictures, some an overall personal visual style. I was also, of course, pleased to see Romanian films on the shortlist

Cristian Mungiu’s Comments on "What Makes A Great Film?
If I was Indian, I would say: Salman Kahn. From an American producer’s point of view, probably it's the star you manage to sign. For Cannes Film Festival it's mostly the style. For us, living in Europe, it's probably the story.

Unfortunately, there is no magical way of knowing before hand what to do to turn your script into a great film. I suppose originality is involved, courage, honesty, a vision about cinema, skills as a story-teller, a good ear for dialogue, talent as a writer and as a virtual-time-handler, knowledge about working with actors, to know what's boring and what's not. It helps to be surprising, it helps to make people curious and interested in what's going to happen next but all this is very general.

Finally some films have more "soul" than others, something that you don't control and that will attract more people to want to see it and make more people appreciate it. But no film will please everybody and, in cinema, quantity is a very relative tool of measuring success.

FILMINUTE 2008: CALL FOR ENTRY

The FILMINUTE 2008 submission period is now officially open.

Once again Filminute is on the lookout for outstanding stories that reflect everything a good film or animation should be, only in 60 seconds — no more, no less!

Filminute 2007 witnessed a doubling of the worldwide audience to more than 90 countries; viewers watched the 25 shortlisted films more than 2 million times during the festival month of September. Such big numbers, along with Filminute’s high caliber jury and the growing number of distribution, sales and development deals that shortlisted Filminute directors are making, confirm growing audience and industry interest in Filminute and the exceptional quality of the films we screen. With this year’s expansion to more media platforms, including television and mobile, the numbers, interest and opportunities will only increase.

To enter your one-minute film in the 2008 Festival, visit the Welcome page and click the “Call For Entry” link. The entry deadline is August 20, 2008.

FILMINUTE // Make Every Moment Count.