The virtual reality-inspired Breakthrough experience brings the 2016 SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards “Responsive Design” trophy to Neo-Pangea.

Winner Grand Prix short narrative

Before Love, Igor Kovalyov (Russia, 2016)

Winner Grand Prix short non-narrative
Track, Tochka, Kazue Monno, Takeshi Nagata (Japan, 2015)

Winner Grand Prix feature film
Cafard, Jan Bultheel  (Belgium/ The Netherlands/ France, 2015)

Winner Grand Prix student film
Edmond, Nina Gantz, National Film and Television School (UK, 2015)

Winner Grand Prix Dutch animation
De Staat: Witch Doctor, Floris Kaayk and Studio Smack (The Netherlands, 2015)

On Sunday March 20 the awards for several competitions were presented at the Holland Animation Film Festival in Louis Hartlooper Complex in Utrecht. 

Best Short Films
Grand Prix narrative short

Igor Kovalyov wins the Grand Prix shorts in the category narrative with Before Love.

From the jury report:
The jury were unanimous in their decision. This film is a masterwork - a lush feast of undulating light and textures that tells a mouthwatering ambiguous story. It offers as many questions as it does answers.

Grand Prix non-narrative short

Tochka, Kazue Monno, Takeshi Nagata won the Grand Prix shorts in the category non-narrative for his film Track.

From the jury report:
The director uses a unique technique to make many works and is making progress in their own style. They have recorded their live action frame by frame and day by day. The accumulation of so many shootings through so many long nights, makes a really fantastic and powerful expression of lights.

Best feature film
Grand Prix feature film

Jan Bultheel won the Grand Prix for his feature film Cafard.

From the jury report:
The best feature animation film to our unanimous opinion was Cafard, which is French for ‘cockroach’, written, designed and directed by Jan Bultheel. Jan Bultheel created a wonderful movie in a surreal style, with a consistent flow of characters and big shots.

Best student film
Grand Prix student film
Nina Gantz won the Grand Prix student film for her film Edmond. 

From the jury report:
Edmond has an original and strong story, which deals with deep human issues. It has unexpected twists, a strong change of scenery and technical excellency. A project that could only have been done in animation.

Best Dutch animation
Grand Prix for Dutch animation
Floris Kaayk and Studio Smack won the Grand Prix Dutch animation for their music video De Staat: Witch Doctor.

From the jury report:
If good art is about evoking feelings, that’s exactly what Witch Doctor does. Therefore we would like to give the Grand Prix to Floris Kaayk and Studio Smack.

Other awards

HAFF Audience Award Dutch animation
Paniek! (Panic!), Joost Lieuwma, Daan Velsink (The Netherlands, 2015)

MovieZone HAFF Award (in cooperation with EYE)
Track, Tochka, Kazue Monno, Takeshi Nagata (Japan, 2015)

HAFF Junior Audience Award (in cooperation with EYE)
(Otto), Job, Joris & Marieke, (The Netherlands, 2015)

Winner web competition HAFFTube
Melting POP,  Alexandre Dubosc (France, 2015)
 

Read the full reports of the jury here.

18de Holland Animation Film Festival
18 t/m 22 maart 2015 in Utrecht
haff.nl – facebook.com/HAFFnl – twitter.com/HAFFnl
 

Young Juries Across Europe Screen Nominees GIRLS LOST, MISS IMPOSSIBLE and RAUF 

The European Film Academy proudly announces and congratulates the three nominees for the EFA Young Audience Award 2016: 

The nominations were chosen by an international committee consisting of Melinda Boros (Clorofilm/Romania), Marjo Kovanen (Koulukino/Finland), Beata Marciniak (New Horizons Association/Poland), Marta Nieto Postigo (Drac Màgic/Spain) and Jakub Viktorin (Visegrad Film Forum/Slovakia).

On Young Audience Film Day on 8 May, the three nominated films will be screened to audiences of 12 – 14 year-olds in the following 30 countries across Europe: 

And it is the young audience that will act as a jury and vote for the winner right after the screenings. In a truly European vote, jury speakers will then transmit the national results live via video conference to Erfurt (Germany) where the winner will be announced in an award ceremony streamed live on yaa.europeanfilmawards.eu, a special website that offers further information about the nominated films and the participating cities.

As a response to the current situation in Europe and a contribution to integration, this year’s fifth edition of the EFA Young Audience Award also specifically includes refugee kids. It is the first time that Berlin participates in the initiative and it is here that the European Film Academy and the Academy of Arts will bring together Berlin pupils and “welcome classes” for refugee children. Together they will watch the nominated films, discuss them with each other, and, as members of the pan-European jury, vote for the winner. This special event is organised in co-operation with the Berlin Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts).

The EFA Young Audience Award 2016 is realised with the following partners:
AUSTRIA -Vienna: Austrian Film Academy, BELGIUM - Brussels: Bozar & Filem’On, BULGARIA – Sofia: Art Fest, CROATIA – Zagreb: Zagreb Film Festival, CYPRUS – Pafos: European Capital of Culture - Pafos2017, DENMARK  - Aalborg:  The Centre for Educational Resources, ESTONIA – Tallinn: Estonian Film Institute, GEORGIA – Tbilisi: Georgian National Film Center & Noosfera Foundation, GERMANY – Berlin: Academy of Arts, GERMANY – Erfurt: German Children’s Media Foundation Golden Sparrow, GREECE – Athens: Hellenic Film Academy, HUNGARY – Budapest: The Hungarian National Film Fund, ISRAEL - Tel Aviv:  The Tel Aviv Cinematheque,  ITALY – Florence: Niels Stensen Cultural Foundation, KOSOVO – Prizren:  DokuFest, LATVIA – Riga: The National Film Centre of Latvia, LUXEMBOURG: Luxembourg City Film Festival, FYR MACEDONIA – Skopje: Macedonian Film Agency, MALTA – St Julian's: Creative Europe Desk Malta, THE NETHERLANDS – Amsterdam: EYE Film Museum, NORWAY – Tromsø: Tromsø International Film Festival, POLAND – Wrocław: New Horizons Cinema (New Horizons Association), PORTUGAL – Lisbon: Portuguese Academy of Film & ICA, ROMANIA - Cluj-Napoca: EducaTIFF, SERBIA – Belgrade: Film Center Serbia, SLOVAKIA – Bratislava: Visegrad Film Forum, SLOVENIA – Izola: Otok, SPAIN – Avilés: Niemeyer Center, SPAIN – Barcelona: Filmoteca de Catalunya, TURKEY, Antalya: Yapimlab, UK – London: BFI, UKRAINE – Kiev: Children KinoFest.

The EFA Young Audience Award is organised and presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM). The national Young Audience Film Day events are organised with the support of the respective national partners.
 

Posthumous Empire Legend award for Alan Rickman

Matt Damon collects Jameson Best Actor award and Best Actress goes to Alicia Vikander

Honouring the best films and entertainment of the past year, the Jameson Empire Awards took place this evening, hosted by David Walliams. The force remained strong for Star Wars: The Force Awakens which received the most awards, including Best Director presented by Vue Entertainment for J.J. Abrams, Best Visual Effects, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy collected by C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, and Best Male and Female Newcomer awards for stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, who were both present to accept their trophies.

Three honorary awards were bestowed by Empire magazine: Empire Inspiration presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey; Empire Hero; and Empire Legend. British actor-director Paddy Considine was presented with the Empire Inspiration award by long-time collaborator and friend Shane Meadows, and actor Stanley Tucci was named Empire Hero. Miranda Richardson, currently filming Churchill with Tucci, presented him with the award in recognition of his recent performances in high-profile films including the Hunger Games series and Spotlight. The late Alan Rickman was posthumously named this year’s Empire Legend by Editor in Chief of Empire, Terri White and News Editor, Chris Hewitt who commented on stage: "This is a heartfelt tribute from the Empire staff to an actor who touched us all with his extraordinary career.”

Other stars of the screen honoured at the ceremony included Matt Damon, who was in attendance to receive the Jameson Best Actor award for his performance in The Martian. Director Paul Greengrass, who has recently reunited with Damon on the upcoming Jason Bourne, presented the award to him on stage. Alicia Vikander was crowned Best Actress for The Danish Girl, as announced by Richard E. Grant.

The top film awards of the evening – Best British Film presented by The Hollywood Reporter and Best Film presented by Sky Movies went to Spectre and The Revenant respectively. Director Sam Mendes collected the Best British Film award from Jonathan Ross for Spectre, which also won Best Thriller presented by Corinthia Hotel London. Further awards dedicated to popular genres were Best Horror, which went to The Hallow and was received by director Corin Hardy and actor Joseph Mawle, and Best Comedy presented by Absolute Radio, which was awarded to Spy and collected by actor Peter Serafinowicz from comedian Katherine Ryan.

The award for Best TV Series, presented by Wuaki TV, presented this year for the first time, went to This Is England ’90. Series director and co-writer Shane Meadows collected the award alongside cast members Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley and Chanel Cresswell.

Other new awards announced at the end of the ceremony included: Batman: Arkham Knight for Best Game presented bythe Forever Hope Foundation; Inside Out for Best Animation; Amy for Best Documentary; The Big Short for Best Screenplay; and World Of Tomorrow for Best Short Film presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey. Mad Max: Fury Road triumphed in the newly introduced craft categories, taking four awards in total for: Best Soundtrack; Best Costume Design; Best Make-Up And Hairstyling; and Best Production Design.

Legend remade in 60 seconds was awarded the annual Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short film award, presented to its director Marc Barnes by jury member Corin Hardy. A total of 355 contestants from four countries submitted a 60-second remake of their favourite film to enter this year’s competition. The entries were judged by a panel of film experts including director Corin Hardy, producer Bekki Wray-Rogers, actress Faye Marsay and Paul Keenan, CEO of Bauer Media, owners of Empire magazine. All 2016 entries and finalists are available to watch at www.jamesonempireDISS.com.

The 21st annual Jameson Empire Awards were once again held at Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel, in Park Lane in the heart of London’s Mayfair. In attendance were nominees, presenters and other distinguished guests from the entertainment world, including: Matt Damon; Sam Mendes; Daisy Ridley; John Boyega; Anthony Daniels;Paul Greengrass; Miranda Richardson; Shane Meadows; Paddy Considine; Andy Serkis; Stanley Tucci; Laura Carmichael; Caitlin Moran; Max Irons; Jonathan Ross; Jane Goldman; Richard E. Grant; Thomas Turgoose; Sarah Gavron; Maisie Williams; Amara Karan; Daniel Mays; Craig Roberts; Peter Serafinowicz; Katherine Ryan; Edith Bowman; Johnny Vegas; Joseph Mawle; Meera Syal; Georgina Campbell

Empire’s Editor in Chief Terri White concludes: "The Jameson Empire Awards has long been a highlight for the film industry – a chance for filmmakers and actors to come together and toast the previous year. And there was much to toast! With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Spectre, The Martian and The Revenant all taking home some serious silverware, the film world has never been more exciting than it is right now. Now we should probably all get a bit of sleep…"

Vision Summit team had just announced VR/AR Awards 2016 finalists in different categories! The votes have been cast and tallied, and the results are in! The first-round judges for the Vision VR/AR Awards 2016 have been working tirelessly at testing nearly 250 submissions, determining which ones will be presented as finalists at the Awards Ceremony. The Ceremony will be held on the evening of February 10th at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Purchase your ticket today to see the winners announced live!  The following is Vision Summit’s press release of the announcement.

UPDATE: VISION SUMMIT partial schedule is live

Reviewing the Vision VR/AR Awards 2016 entries made the panel of judges even more excited about the maturity of virtual and augmented reality technology. Although a few ambitious projects caused some slight dizziness, all are pushing the boundaries of immersive content and breaking through to new levels of storytelling, socializing, and entertainment.

VISION SUMMIT 2016 FULL REPORT

The 250 submissions we received are a true-cross section of the industry, as are the impressive finalists. We saw game projects, visual simulations, 360 videos, and a variety of experiences that defy traditional categorization. Our experienced judging panel had their work cut out for them in narrowing the huge number of innovative, engaging, and fun experiences down to only 21 finalists. These finalists were chosen because they are exceptional examples of virtual and augmented reality content.

Vision Inspire Award Finalists

Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games & Radial Games

Fantastic Contraption was originally a building game made way back in 2008. Millions of people played it obsessively and saved over 12 million contraptions. You can still play it for free. For years we loved the idea of a three dimensional Fantastic Contraption but just couldn’t figure out how it would work. Then we tried the Vive.

The new Fantastic Contraption has been designed from the ground up to be a room-scale VR game. Imagine walking around a grassy island floating in the sky making a contraption the size of a horse with your hands then watching it roll out into the world. It’s a VR experience you and your friends will play for hours.

Faster Than Light by Anomaly Productions

Faster Than Light is an augmented reality monthly comic available at local comic retailers and Comixology. Our free companion AR app takes the reading experience to a new level. Watch the captain’s log, interact with aliens, read an encyclopedia’s worth of backstory and much more. With each monthly comic released, new content is added to the app for an ever expanding universe.

The VERY near future: We discover the secret of faster-than-light travel. Suddenly, the universe is wide open to us, all thanks to genius SAUL FREDRICKS, who made the breakthrough and is touted as the Einstein of our era. His face is everywhere.

With the new technology, we hastily refit the nearly complete first manned Mars Explorer mission with faster-than-light engines and boldly go where no man has gone before. A new hope is felt across all mankind as the IGS DISCOVERY sets off.

But Saul has a dark secret. You see, he’s not the genius everyone believes him to be. He was merely the first to successfully interpret a signal we received from outer space in the 1940s. The message contained every bit of technological knowledge from an advanced alien civilization…and a warning…

“It is too late for us. Use our knowledge and flee your world. They are coming…”

I Expect You to Die by Schell Games

Made for Oculus Rift, I Expect You to Die is a virtual reality (VR) puzzle game that lets you step into the world of an elite secret agent to attempt to survive a series of deadly situations. The goal is to complete the mission using brain power, cunning and a top secret device that gives you the power of telekinesis.

Best VR Experience Category Finalists

Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games & Radial Games

Fantastic Contraption was originally a building game made way back in 2008. Millions of people played it obsessively and saved over 12 million contraptions. You can still play it for free. For years we loved the idea of a three dimensional Fantastic Contraption but just couldn’t figure out how it would work. Then we tried the Vive.

The new Fantastic Contraption has been designed from the ground up to be a room-scale VR game. Imagine walking around a grassy island floating in the sky making a contraption the size of a horse with your hands then watching it roll out into the world. It’s a VR experience you and your friends will play for hours.

Job Simulator by Owlchemy Labs

A tongue-in-cheek virtual reality experience for motion controlled VR platforms. In a world where robots have replaced all human jobs, step into the “Job Simulator” to learn what it was like ‘to job’.

Thunderbird: The Legend Begins by Innervision Games

Thunderbird: The Legend Begins is the first chapter in an epic cinematic series designed exclusively for Virtual Reality. Embark on an interactive journey to discover the hidden secrets of an ancient legend shrouded in mystery. This puzzle-based adventure features advanced interactive game mechanics and stunning visuals to create a deeply immersive and compelling experience.

Best AR Experience Finalists

Eleanor of Ayer by Gelly Bomb Games

“Eleanor of Ayer” is a augmented reality, multiple ending mystery puzzle game that follows the murder case of Shovi, the vocalist of the fictional rock band LUNACY. Before his last breath, Shovi leaves a dying message reading “Wa”, leaving the band’s drummer Walrus to become a suspect. Customers of the cafe may request a tablet from the waiter and use it to solve various puzzles that will reveal the true murderer.

Faster Than Light by Anomaly Productions

Faster Than Light is an augmented reality monthly comic available at local comic retailers and Comixology. Our free companion AR app takes the reading experience to a new level. Watch the captain’s log, interact with aliens, read an encyclopedia’s worth of backstory and much more. With each monthly comic released, new content is added to the app for an ever expanding universe.

The VERY near future: We discover the secret of faster-than-light travel. Suddenly, the universe is wide open to us, all thanks to genius SAUL FREDRICKS, who made the breakthrough and is touted as the Einstein of our era. His face is everywhere.

With the new technology, we hastily refit the nearly complete first manned Mars Explorer mission with faster-than-light engines and boldly go where no man has gone before. A new hope is felt across all mankind as the IGS DISCOVERY sets off.

But Saul has a dark secret. You see, he’s not the genius everyone believes him to be. He was merely the first to successfully interpret a signal we received from outer space in the 1940s. The message contained every bit of technological knowledge from an advanced alien civilization…and a warning…

“It is too late for us. Use our knowledge and flee your world. They are coming…”

Table Zombies by SRG United Solutions

Table Zombies is an augmented reality, where the player plays the role of shooter from the rescue team chopper. The primary objective of the game is to stop the zombies from reaching the survivor base and you are not all alone: you have the survivors team to back you up at Ground Zero and stop the zombie infestation.

Technical Achievement Award

EasyAR Engine by EasyAR

EasyAR – Easy to use and free AR engine which offers cross-platform support.

Modbox by Alientrap

Modbox is a physics sandbox game where you completely set and control your environment. You create your own Holodeck to play with, and to share with others

Residential Condominium: Architectural Visualization by Arch Virtual

This is an architectural visualization of a residential condominium, built from a Revit (BIM) model translated into Unity and built for Oculus Rift DK2 PC.

Artistic Achievement Award

Lucid Trips – Whateverland by VR Nerds/Lucidtrips

Lucid Trips a Virtual Reality experience which takes places in planetary dream worlds. You explore artistically designed planets with a completely new concept, defining and navigating your avatar in a distinctive way, using hand motion controllers.

SENS by Red Corner

SENS is the first project to ever adapt a comic book into VR.  SENS tells us – without a word – about a man’s initiatory trip. The anonymous wanderer roams in a stripped down yet labyrinthine universe. All around him, arrows in ever changing shapes show him the way to go. His adventure is an invitation to question the unknown and let go of codes to perceive beyond the limits… of a page, of an angle or of imagination.

TECHNOLUST by IRIS VR Inc

TECHNOLUST is a Virtual Reality Adventure set in a near-future Cyberpunk world. The world and style of TECHNOLUST are inspired by 1980’s and 90’s Cyberpunk fiction like Blade Runner, Neuromancer and Robocop.

Virtual Reality technology allow a player to deeply explore a fully realized, living, breathing world and truly be present in the game, rather than just controlling an avatar. Join the resistance and help bring down the oppressive corporations… or just hang out at home and watch a movie with your artificial intelligence. Go to the arcade and experience new worlds or hack into secure networks and fight to set the truth free. As in the real world, the choice is yours.

Best Game Category Finalists

Budget Cuts by Neat Corporation

Budget Cuts is a VR stealth game, putting you in the shoes of a spy at a company undergoing budget cuts.

Classroom Aquatic by Sunken Places

Classroom Aquatic is the world’s first trivia/stealth game for the VR Headsets. Players play as an exchange student in a school of dolphins, taking a test that the player is in no way prepared for. They must resort to cheating in order to pass it!

I Expect You to Die by Schell Games

Made for Oculus Rift, I Expect You to Die is a virtual reality (VR) puzzle game that lets you step into the world of an elite secret agent to attempt to survive a series of deadly situations. The goal is to complete the mission using brain power, cunning and a top secret device that gives you the power of telekinesis.

Best Film/Interactive Story Category Finalist

Apollo 11 VR by Immersive VR Education

On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. You can now experience this event by becoming Neil Armstrong and boarding the Saturn V Rocket which is still to this day the most powerful machine ever created by humans.

The Fabulous Journeys of Teo & Leonie by Kenzan Studios, Switzerland

Lost in the middle of the Renaissance following a bizarre incident, two young children from the early 20th Century want above all else to find their way back to their own time and their parents. Greatly moved by their quest, Leonardo da Vinci takes them under his wing and tries to return them to where they belong, some 400 years later.

However the brilliant inventor occasionally makes mistakes, and all three characters will be drawn into gripping adventures that will place them right at the heart of some of the great events that changed the course of history. Thanks to the two children, the ageing Leonardo, who believed he’d seen it all, embarks on the most active period of his life.  The quirky perspective of this unlikely trio presents us with an original vision of the everyday life of people from other eras and places, the way they communicated, cooked, played, invented and lived.

The Shoebox Diorama by Daniel Ernst

The Shoebox Diorama is an ongoing series of interconnected fantastical dioramas for VR devices. Each diorama is a fantastical handpainted place to visit in which Interaction is used to enhance the sense of presence and tell a story, not to go from point A to B or save a princess.

The series consists of ‘Blocked In’, ‘Der Grosse Gottlieb’ and ‘The Marchland’.

Best Live-Action Experience

Get Barreled in Tahiti with Samsung Gear VR by Rapid VR

Sydney-based Rapid VR has again explored new frontiers in the development of 360 degree immersive virtual reality video content with a new 360˚ VR film created in partnership with the World Surf League (WSL) and Samsung featuring former WSL World Champion CJ Hobgood, via agency Cheil Worldwide.

Directed by renowned surf filmmaker Taylor Steele at legendary surf break Teahupo’o, Tahiti, the film was captured using 360 degree camera technology. The immersive film features incredible footage that transports viewers right into the heart of Teahupo’o’s most dangerous barrels, giving them the opportunity to experience the thrill of surfing one of the deadliest waves in the world.

Sinking by Maren Demant

This short film has no linearity rather than a self-controlled view on an environment that can discovered differently each time. The viewer can find a representation of it´s own body in the media.  The viewer find itself in an empty cinema from where he dives into the screen, from day to dawn, from surface to subsurface, while a choreography of life culminates in its climax. It is an experiment of a poetic storytelling, where the viewer is driven by music and actions from all sides.

U2 Song for Someone – Vrse by Chris Milk, U2, Apple, Universal Music Gropu, Vrse Inc., and Vrse.Works

Chris Milk and U2 came together to create a revolutionary new visual interpretation of U2’s “Song For Someone.” Milk takes singers from across the world and joins them together to create this reimagining of the music video.

Click to Submit: http://filmmakers.com/festival/trailer/entry.htm

movie Trailer, Book Trailer, TV Show Trailer, Digital Media Trailer,
Conceptual Trailer, Film Trailer, Music Trailer, video trailer, student trailer, etc.

Submit your Movie Trailer, Book Trailer, TV Trailer, or Concept Trailer to

- Generate Exposure

- Build and Grow a Loyal Fan Base

- Pitch, market, and secure financial support

The movie trailer, movie teaser, or movie preview may be for any project and used to promote said project at any stage including, but not limited to, conceptual, developmental, pre-production, production, post-production or completed work. It may represent a fictional feature film or video movie, TV Movie or television show, TV series, short film or documentary, book (complete, incomplete, published, or un-published) e-book, multimedia project, educational video, music video, or a web series

Filmmakers, moviemakers, artists, use the movie trailer to generate exposure! Build and grow a loyal fan base! Secure financial support from potential investors or sponsors. Use it as a pitch. Whatever your creative reason is, FilmMakers Global Movie Trailer Festival can be your ally in getting you closer to the dream.

EMERGING ARTIST AWARD WINNER
FOR BEST TRAILER OF THE YEAR (2015)
awarded to
CONVERGENCE
Drama, Sci-Fi

INTERNATIONAL MOVIE TRAILER AWARDS AND PRIZES

The best overall trailer (promoting a movie, book, new media project, etc) will be awarded

• The Emerging Artist Award Trophy for Best Trailer of the Year.
• Promoted to distribution companies worldwide.
• Posted on the homepage of Filmmakers.com for a period of 3 months, the home page of the festival, where it will be promoted for an additional 9 months plus indefinately on the festival results page.

Top 5 winning trailers promoted worldwide

Top Ten trailers will receive

• An Emerging Artist Certificate of Achievement Award (digital format).
• Promoted and posted on the the FilmMakers.com website's / Festival results page.

INTERNATIONAL MOVIE TRAILER ELIGIBILITY

FilmMakers Global Movie Trailer, Book Trailer, Digital Media Trailer, Book Trailer  Conceptual Trailer,  TV Show Trailer or Television Trailer, Video Trailer, in the Filmmakers Global Movie Trailer Festival is open to anyone (world wide) except all employees, directors, associates, festival judges, and, the immediate families of Filmmakers.com, the affiliates and sponsors and their immediate families.

INTERNATIONAL MOVIE TRAILER RULES & GUIDELINES

• The movie trailer, book trailer, media trailer, etc. must run no less than 10 seconds and no more than 4 1/2 minutes.
• The trailer must either be the original work of submitter or the submitter has secured all the rights and has all the paperwork available upon demand to FGTF).
• All submissions must be uploaded online (Youtube.com or Vimeo.com)
• Any copyrighted material used in the trailer. like music, images, talent, dialogue, content, etc must have the permission of owner (s). In the event the trailer is a finalist in the Filmmakers Global Trailer Festival, the producer of trailer or submitter will have all documentation available upon request.
• If dialogue and/or title cards in the trailer are in a language other than English, you must provide English subtitles or title cards that will accurately represent the dialogue.

Previous Winner

CONVERGENCE

Click to Submit

WINNER RECEIVES

EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival will host an evening of environmental and adventure films this Earth Day, April 22, 2016, at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

 This special one night only event will showcase a collection of films from the 2016 annual festival. Tickets are ON SALE NOW and active SYRCL members receive discounted pricing*. 

Eleven films will screen at the San Francisco Earth Day event:
36 Inches
The Accidental Environmentalist Special Appearance by filmmaker, Kristine Stolakis
The Fable of the Wolf
Farmers Speak: A Call for the Next Generation
The Important Places 
Joe
Live Monumental  World Premiere!
Mother of All Rivers  In memory of Honduran activist, Berta Cáceras
Nature RX
Paddle for the North
The Thousand Year Journey: Oregon to Patagonia

Visit the website for full event details, times and location, or follow on Facebook. This Earth Day Celebration is a benefit for SYRCL and made possible with support from our National Partner, Clif Bar.
 

Vail Film Festival organizers are pleased to announce the 2016 Rising Star Award, the Opening and Closing Night Films, and the Friday Night Concert Lineup, for the 13th annual Festival, taking place April 7-10, 2016 in one of the United States’ premier resort destinations, Vail, Colorado.

The Vail Film Festival is proud to honor Madison Davenport, one of Hollywood's leading young stars, with the 2016 Rising Star Award. Madison Davenport is already an industry veteran, having built an impressive resume since the age of 7. This past holiday season Madison was seen in the Universal comedy “Sisters” opposite Tina Fey and Amy Phoehler. Also in 2015, she had the lead role opposite Taryn Manning (“Orange Is the New Black”) in the indie feature “A Light Beneath Their Feet,” directed by Valerie Weiss. Davenport recently started production on the third season of Robert Rodriguez's cult classic “From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series.” Madison's credits also include her strong supporting role of ‘Na’el’ in Darren Aronofsky’s Biblical epic “Noah,” where she shared the screen with Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson and Anthony Hopkins, playing the love interest of Logan Lerman’s character. On the small screen, Madison is most known for her role on the hit Showtime series “Shameless” in which she delivered a memorable performance for two seasons portraying the fan favorite character of ‘Ethel.’ The Rising Star Award will be presented to Madison Davenport at the Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 9th. Past Vail Film Festival Rising Star honorees include Jesse Eisenberg, Olivia Wilde, Krysten Ritter and Sophia Bush.

The 2016 Vail Film Festival will open with the Colorado Premiere of “Morris from America,” starring Craig Robinson, winner of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize. The film follows the adventures of a 13-year-old American boy who moves to Germany. Vail Film Festival alum Valerie Weiss’ new film, “A Light Beneath Their Feet,” will screen as the Closing Night Film. The film stars Taryn Manning (“Orange is the New Black") and VFF 2016 Rising Star honoree, Madison Davenport. The coming-of-age dramedy follows a high school senior (Davenport) who must choose between escaping to the college of her dreams or staying close to home to take care of her bipolar mother (Manning).

Some of the 2016 Vail Film Festival highlight films include the World Premiere of “Year By the Sea,” adapted from the novel of the same name written by Joan Anderson; the World Premiere of “Cut to the Chase,” by writer/director Blayne Weaver, starring Weaver and Lance Henriksen; the World Premiere of “Finding Her,” starring Johnny Whitworth, Maurice McRae and Jeremy Holm; and the World Premieres of the documentary films “Shelter in the City” by director Terrence Donnellan, and “Riot” by director Kevin McLaughlin.

Beyond the film screenings and nightly parties, the Festival is proud to present the annual Friday Night Concert, presented by L.A.’s renowned Hotel Café. The concert will take place on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at Shakedown Bar in Vail Village. Tickets are free for pass holders and $15 at the door. The concert will feature acclaimed musicians Butterfly Boucher, Erin McCarley, Katie Herzig, K.S. Rhoads, and the band The Kin.

“Music and film go hand in hand, and we’re thrilled to once again showcase amazing musicians at our annual Friday Night Concert, one of the festival’s most popular events,” said festival Co-Director Scott Cross. 

For more information about the musicians and Friday Night Concert, visit the festival website at www.vailfilmfestival.com/friday-night-concert.

The Vanya Exerjian: Empowering Women and Girls Awardin memory of Founding Artistic Director Nora Armani's cousin and uncle,
victims of a hate crime was presented by Ms. Ruchira Gupta of Apne Aap, together with Ms. Armani and it went to: Myriam Zaki for her work in Who Killed the Armenians? directed by Mohamend Hanafy (Egypt)

* The Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature Award went to: Before the Spring directed by Ahmed Atef (Egypt) The film is offered a screenings at the Bow Tie Cinemas, a consultation with Candy Factory and a first look option, $300 rental certificate from Resolution Rentals + 50% off any other rentals, a Final Draft Scriptwriting software Certificate, Special SR Socially Relevant Film Festival labelled wine by City Winery. The award was presented by narrative feature category jury member Claus Mueller

*The Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature Award went to: Beneath the Olive Tree directed by Stavroula Toska (USA/ Greece) Distribution with Festival partner IndiePix Unlimited, two year free membership on Festival partner SundanceNow Doc Club, a consultation for packaging and promotion by Cinema Libre Studio with 25% off any necessary co-production work and the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival labelled wine by City Winery. The award was presented by documentary feature category jury member Dirk Robertson

*
In the Best Narrative Short category there was an Ex Aequo and the Award went to: Eclipse directed by Ara Yernjakyan  and My Beautiful White Skin directed by Stuart Gatt (UK) Distribution Deal with Festival partner IndiePix, Final Draft Scriptwriting software Certificate, SR Socially Relevant Film Festival labelled wine by City Winery

* The Best Documentary Short Award went to: One if By Land directed by Nandini Sikand (USA) Distribution Deal with Festival partner IndiePix, SR Socially Relevant Film Festival labelled wine by City Winery
The Best Script Award went to: A Mother's Legacy by Cilla Lowen (South

The Best Script Award went to: A Mother's Legacy by Cilla Lowen (South Africa)Final Draft Scriptwriting software Certificate, listing on the InkTip website free of charge, SR Socially Relevant Film Festival labelled wine by City WineryThe SR Film Festival's Humanitarian Award went to: Sail the Wind directed by Christine Knowlton (USA)and toVision: Healing the Bling in Ethiopia directed by Eric PerlmanThe SR Film Festival's Activism Award went to: Caged No More directed by Lisa ArnoldThe SR Film Festival's Audience Award went to: Who Killed the Armenians? directed by Mohamed HanafyThe Women Film Critics Circle Award is offered annually at SR Film Fest by the WFCC and it was presented by Edie Nugent to: Lost Tongue directed by Davison Mudzingwa

The Best Actress in a Feature Film Award went to: Huichi Chiu in Escapes directed by Mercedes Gasparhe

Best Actress in a Short Film Award went to: Ritu Arya in My Beautiful White Skin directed by Stuart Gatt Both awards were presented by Narrative Feature Jury member and actress Nicole Ansari-Cox

The Best Actor in a Feature Film Award went to:Baptiste Moulart in I am NOT from Barcelona directed by Stephane Leclercq

The Best Actor in a Short Film Award went to

Hamis El-Sheikh in Border directed by Zahi Mahler

Both awards were presented by Narrative Feature Jury member and actor Marc Duret
 

To download information and film stills:

Appendix
List of Awardees:

List of Jurors:

Young Cinema Competition
Ms. Sylvia CHANG, Mr. Denis CÔTÉ, Mr. Ian Haydn SMITH and Ms. DAI Junhua,
Documentary Competition
Ms. Judith PERNIN, Mr. YANG Li-Chou, and Mr. Oscar HO Hing-kay
Short Film Competition
Mr. John CANCIANI, Ms. Kiki FUNG and Mr. Amos WHY
FIPRESCI Prize
Mr. LAM Kam-po, Mr. Stephen TEO and Ms. Anita PIOTROWSKA
SIGNIS Award
Mr. Edgar RUBIO, Mr. Jumpei MATSUMOTO and Ms. LEE Ka-man 

The Great and The Small (2016)

Industry veterans of the 19th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival

select this year’s festival film favorites

Sonoma, CA (April 2, 2016) – The Film Jury Award winners of the 19th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival were announced tonight, Saturday, April 2, 2016, in the Sebastiani Theatre.

“The program this year is the most diverse and competitive it’s ever been, including all the wonderful submissions,” said Program Director Steve Shor. “All three juries had a lively discussion about their selections.”

This year’s jury panel included industry veterans such as Steve Chagollan, Assistant Managing Editor of Features of industry magazine Variety; James Cromwell, celebrated actor and stage actor, Emmy-award winner, and Academy-Award nominee; David Dinerstein, accomplished industry executive responsible for co-founding Paramount Classics and building Fox Searchlight; Michael Howell, Founder and Executive Director of Devour! The Food Film Fest in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Devour! The Beach in Ahaco, Bahamas; Michael Repsch, Senior Vice President of Distribution & Sales at Breaking Glass Pictures; Arianne Rocchi, Vice President of Publicity at Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing, Leslie Vanderpool, Founder and Executive Director of the Bahamas International Film Festival; and Lucy Walker, Emmy-Award winning documentary director and two-time Academy Award nominee.

JURIED AWARDS

Best American Independent Feature:

The Great and The Small

USA, directed by Dusty Bias

Scott is living on the streets and trying to find his way back into society while on probation for petty crimes. He attempts to navigate his complex relationships with his two-bit criminal of a boss, an enigmatic detective, and his ex-girlfriend.

Honorable Mention:

Coming Through the Rye

USA, directed by James Sadwith

Jamie Schwartz is stumbling through disastrous relationships at a boy’s boarding school.  He runs away with a local girl to the mountains of New Hampshire in search of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye.

Best World Feature:

Papa

Cuba, directed by Bob Yari

A young Miami Herald journalist is befriended by Ernest and Mary Hemingway and witnesses Hemingway’s decline into depression and alcoholism with the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution.

Best Documentary:

In Search of Balance

USA, directed by Adam Pfleghaar

Exploring a vision of health, science and nature that recognizes the importance of the interconnections between us, the food we consume, how we produce that food and the natural world at large including the mysterious, invisible world of the human microbiome.

Best Dramatic Short:

The Lake

Canada/USA, directed by Michael Bule

A provocative, ambiguous, moving short film about personal choices, morality, and mortality…and a cat and a dog.                                                                                                           

Best Documentary Short:

Rosa

USA, directed by Sean Kusanagi and Hannah Gregg

Rosa has wrestled with the unimaginable. Now she must overcome her past to follow the dreams she once thought impossible.

Honorable Mention:

A Child for Sale

USA, directed by Fiona Bock

Survivors of child sex trafficking tell their stories in an interview with Fiona Bock.

Best Comedic Short:

rated

USA, directed by John Forston

Maggie wakes to find she’s received a YELP-like rating floating above her head. What’s worse? She’s got only 2.5 stars!

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About the Sonoma International Film Festival

The Sonoma International Film Festival is presented by the Sonoma Valley Film Society, a 501(c)3 dedicated to promoting independent film, supporting filmmakers around the world, and inspiring film lovers. Most films screened at the Festival have attending filmmakers and actors making for spirited Q&As. This unique five-day event offers world-class cuisine from local artisans and exceptional wine from Sonoma vintners. Renowned filmmakers, industry leaders and celebrities such as Bruce Willis Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams and Danny Glover, Demián Bichir and Mary-Louise Parker have walked the festival red carpet and enjoyed its intimate ambiance.

-Official SIFF press release edited by Vanessa McMahon