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.

BEST FILMINUTE 2007, WINNER

- PRESS RELEASE -

FILMINUTE 2007 WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Bulgarian football film wins hearts and top honours at Filminute, the International One-Minute Film Festival.

London UK, October 17, 2007 — Bulgarian Director Kristina Grozeva’s film Game is the big winner at Filminute 2007, the international one-minute film festival. The film won the jury-awarded Best Filminute prize and also ranked as the festival’s Top Rated film by audiences who this year tuned in from over 90 countries to view, rate and vote at the Filminute website.

This film tells the story of a boy who, despite facing serious challenges, enthusiastically finds his place in a neighborhood football game.

The festival’s other top award, The People’s Choice, went to Indian Director Siddartha Jatla’s Missing, a film that quietly draws attention to the ongoing and illegal practice of child marriage in India.

The Filminute 2007 jury gave a nod to 5 films that deserved recognition for the quality of of their stories, art, style and impact. The 5 Jury Commendations went to:

• About Time (Catalin Leescu, Romania),
• In a Circus (Pablo & Gabriel Nicoli, Argentina),
• Egg Love (Zach Math / Jonah Bekhor, Canada),
• Fun Time (Aleksey Andrianov, Russia), and
• One Minute Guide to Planet Earth (Armen Antranikian, UK / Germany).

The winning films were selected from a shortlist of 25 outstanding and diverse entries drawn from a pool of over 800 films from 45 countries. All films were subjected to both a public vote and a review by the international jury, luminaries from film, art, literature, media and communications.

The Filminute 2007 jury members included:

• Michael Ondaatje (Booker Prize-winning novelist and poet)
• Kevin Roberts (CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi)
• Samira Makmahlbaf (Cannes Jury Prize-winning film director)
• Klaus Eder (General Secretary of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics)
  
• Kenichi Kondo (Assistant Curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo).

“From story lines, through to editing and sound design, this year’s collection once again impressed the jury and the public,” said Filminute Executive Director and Head of Jury John Ketchum. “The fact that Game was chosen for Best Filminute and also ranked as the top-rated film by audiences worldwide underscores the film’s appeal, quality, and emotional impact.” The People’s Choice award was a footrace down to the final week. Missing surged ahead to win after running neck-in-neck with Game and One Minute Guide to Planet Earth.

What some members of the Filminute 2007 jury had to say about Game:

• “Talk about an inspirational leader. This young man has enough game for an entire league. I loved the boy’s passion and enthusiasm.” – Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi.

• “A nice story, well-suited for a one-minute film. Good photography and excellent editing.” – Klaus Eder, General Secretary of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics.

• “The work is very cleverly structured with such a great, unexpected ending. I keep thinking about what dreams the boy has.” – Kenichi Kondo, Assistant Curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo.

View the main Filminute site and winning films at http://www.filminute.com

BEST FILMINUTE 2007: "GAME"

BEST FILMINUTE 2007 goes to Game.
Congratulations to director Kristina Grozeva.

VIEW AND VOTE BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30

Here is a compilation of the 25 shortlisted films from 19 countries eligible for BEST FILMINUTE and the People's Choice award at Filminute 2007. At the festival site, pick your favourite film, add your comments, and VOTE before midnight September 30.

FILMINUTE 2007 TRAILER

MAIN SITE: http://www.filminute.com

CREDITS
Edited by Catalin Leescu (ROMANIA)
Original score composed by Matti Paalanen (FINLAND)
Motion graphic identity by LOOP Media, Creative Director Craig Kirkham (CANADA)
Graphic design by Matt Bilewicz (CANADA)

Pick your favourite film and vote before midnight September 30.
http://www.filminute.com

WINNERS ANNOUNCED WEEK OF OCTOBER 15.

FESTIVAL SCREENING ROOM POWERED BY ADBEAST

Screening Room sponsored by adbeast

The Filminute 2007 Screening Room is sponsored by adbeast. The quality of the films in our festival called for a level of presentation far and away above the grainy, disposable clips you might expect on YouTube. Further, the collaborative way of working with professional creative teams and resources across multiple timezones calls for an operating "system" enabled by adbeast.

Adbeast offers "a suite of digital tools and a collaboration network that allows advertising industry professionals to present, manage and share work online - quickly, easily and securely."

http://www.adbeast.com/

60 Words on 60 Seconds

EYE WEEKLY has selected 6 films from this year's shortlist to review.

Take a look at 60 Words on 60 Seconds. The films selected by EYE WEEKLY are listed below.

ACROFOBIA (ROMANIA)
Raul Taciu

DAVE FOLEY & FANS (CANADA)
Brian Smith

EGG LOVE (CANADA)
Zach Math / Jonah Bekhor

FUN TIME (RUSSIA)
Aleksey Andrianov

GRAHAM (NEW ZEALAND)
Paul Scott-James

ONE MINUTE GUIDE TO PLANET EARTH (Germany / UK )
Armen Antranikian

WELCOME

The Filminute 2007 Shortlist

THE FILMINUTE 2007 SHORTLIST
25 Congratulations to this year's filmmakers

*

ABOUT TIME
DIRECTOR: Catalin Leescu
ROMANIA

ACROFOBIA
DIRECTOR: Raul Taciu
ROMANIA

AIR PLUGS
DIRECTOR: Elena Wen
USA

CELEBRATE
DIRECTOR: Christian Anderson-Ramshall / Adam Watson
UK

DAVE FOLEY AND FANS
DIRECTOR: Brian Smith
CANADA

DEDICATION
DIRECTOR: Geoff Browne
CANADA

EGG LOVE
DIRECTOR: Zach Math / Jonah Bekhor
CANADA

FIRST BLOOM
DIRECTOR: Midi Onodera
CANADA

FUN TIME
DIRECTOR: Aleksey Andrianov
RUSSIA

GAME
DIRECTOR: Kristina Grozeva
BULGARIA

GLOBAL WARMING VACATION
DIRECTOR: Zale Dalen
CANADA / CHINA

GRAHAM
DIRECTOR: Paul Scott-James
NEW ZEALAND

IN A CIRCUS
DIRECTOR: Pablo & Gabriel Nicoli
ARGENTINA

LE FIL ROUGE
DIRECTOR: Yasuko Tadokoro
JAPAN / FRANCE / CANADA

MATCHMAKER
DIRECTOR: Niko Stumpo
NETHERLANDS

MISSING
DIRECTOR: Siddartha Jatla
INDIA

ONE MINUTE GUIDE TO PLANET EARTH
DIRECTOR: Armen Antranikian
GERMANY / UK

PASHIZ
DIRECTOR: Mahmood Nuri
IRAN

PIG
DIRECTOR: Ross Newell
UK / SPAIN

POETIC MECHANICS
DIRECTOR: Florin Piersic jr.
ROMANIA

POLAR BEARS
DIRECTOR: Eskimo Productions
AUSTRALIA

SOLDIERS
DIRECTOR: Hillman Curtis
USA

TENNIS PLAYERS
DIRECTOR: Tobias Nölle
SWITZERLAND

TERO TALKS WITH HIS DAD
DIRECTOR: Jukka Kärkkäinen
FINLAND

TWO POINTS
DIRECTOR: Bogdan Dumitrescu
ROMANIA

When Filminute launched in 2006, 8 countries were represented on the inaugural year's shortlist. This year, via independent and international co-productions, 19 countries are represented: ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BULGARIA, CANADA, CHINA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, INDIA, IRAN, JAPAN, THE NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, SPAIN, SWITZERLAND, USA, UK

"Short is the New Long" — Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts, worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi and a member of the Filminute 2007 jury, wrote about Filminute this week. We invite you to read the full blog entry titled Short is the New Long.

"It’s not as easy as it seems" — David Sproxton

David Sproxton is co-founder of Aardman Animations, the Academy Award winning studio behind the adventures of the plasticine characters Wallace and Grommit and the animated film Chicken Run. Friends of the Earth, who are running a parallel Call for Entry for "green films" interviewed David Sproxton a few weeks ago.

" With a lot of short films, there's often a big film trying to escape out of it.

But in a minute, if it's well constructed, you can put over some pretty hefty ideas without hammering a point home.

A one minute film if it's well thought through can pack a punch and not bore your audience.

Good one-minute films which are engaging, put across a message, sustain and leave you feeling you've had a bit of entertainment and some information are quite tricky to make. It's not as easy as it seems."

— David on short films

Please visit the Friends of the Earth site to read the full interview or to learn more about Friends of the Earth's "One minute with meaning" initiative.

Submissions to date from the following countries

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania , Macedonia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, USA