It’s kind of duty for us watching the Oscar Ceremony, since we’ve had an Oscar-winner short on Daazo. It’s good to know, that among the flashy scenes at Kodak Theatre are not only high-budget features getting awarded; the next generation is already there with their short films.
This year in the category of Live Action Shorts the Oscar has gone to Philippe Pollet-Villard (France) for The Mozart of Pickpockets.
Everyone - who’s seen the film - is just loving it; Anne Thompson deputy editor of Variety wrote: “Charlie Chaplin would be proud of this charming little comedy, which observes two inept Parisian pickpockets who meet their match in a deaf-mute young street urchin. Though a fair amount of the laughter is dialogue-based, the funniest bits employ good, old-fashioned silent-movie tactics (as in the scene where one thief distracts the suspicious hotel clerk, while his partner attempts to smuggle the child through the lobby in an oversize shopping bag).”
“The Mozart of Pickpockets boasts its share of surprises, but it doesn’t depend on them, putting characters first. Unassuming in its pleasures, yet universal in its appeal, Mozart gets my vote” - she added.
Peter and the Wolfwon the Oscar of Animated Shorts. British director Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman film’s is an animated version of Sergei Prokofiev’s musical tale for children, which was written and composed in 1936. Peter lives in a world where he has to confront evil and his struggle against the wolf leads to his transformation. A fragile little boy, Peter discovers his own strength and, with the help of a few friends, becomes a true hero.. Anne Thompson wrote: “If I had to predict a winner, this would be it… Templeton’s interpretation seems to favor the animals and even features a mushy new twist: after capturing the wolf, Peter lets the misunderstood beast go free, revealing the hunters as the true villains of the story.“
The good thing is that both winners (Mozart… and Peter and the Wolf) are very well made, brave atworks, but watchable, entertaining shorts at the same time; this is what we prefer on Daazo too.
And don’t forget: we already presented an Oscar-winning animated short: Ferenc Rofusz’ The Fly.
“Five years have past now since we organised the first time in Miskolc “CineFest”, the International Festival of Young Filmmakers. To our greatest pleasure near thousand filmmakers and ten thousands of spectators visited this event the last four years, from every corner of the world. Our goal, to give an occasion to the young directors under 35 years to show and measure their works at that festival, has been achieved. From year to year, our festival has became more and more succesful and talked about, a fact proven by the number of the films encreasing every year and by the recognition of many guests, experts and filmmakers, who are coming back to us year after year. We are getting lots of feedback from filmmakers who have been awarded at the first time at our festival, and since their works are regularly invited to other Hungarian and international festivals.” - Tibor Biró, President of the Festival
Cinefest Film Festival is surely a unique festival for young filmmakers. The good atmosphere joins to full house screenings and extreme parties at night. Nevertheless Cinefest has a very strong programme each year, featuring the best films from all around. It would be a shame to skip this great Festival.
This year the Festival has a special category: Woman in Films.
Find more info and application form here: http://cinefest.hu/en/
Application deadline: 31. May 2008
The festival is open for short films less than 60 minutes and made before May 2008.
Our friends (Nisi Masa, Moviement) launched a very interesting project indeed. If you are fancy to make a documentary on and about the Russian railways, apply to CineTrain workshop, and cross this enormous country with your camera!
Organising an itinerant cinema event; NISI MASA old-timers have been nurturing this crazy idea ever since the origins of the network. It took the arrival of the Russian association Moviement, for the dream to become reality. Our enthusiastic Moscow-based colleagues intend to bring up-to-date a unique working method, invented by Russian documentary filmmakers in the 1930s. It was called the ‘Cine-Train’.
Film crews, under the guidance of Aleksandr Medvedkin, used to travel through the Soviet Union in specially equipped wagons. Although they were filming the industrial achievements of the regime, the underlying goal was to give the power of speech to people who didn’t normally have the opportunity to get their voices heard.
In 2008, the international workshop will hopefully ensure the legacy of this spirit, but will focus its interest on the notion of borders. “Did we just cross the European border?” 18 young filmmakers will constantly ask themselves along the 9 302 km of the mythic Trans-Siberian railroad track. Where does Europe ‘end’? What concrete expressions or feelings of this border can be found? From Moscow to Vladivostok, NISI MASA and Moviement want to offer the participants (rallied into 6 shooting crews) the possibility to answer these questions in a stimulating atmosphere, supported with professional tutors, far away from clichés and preconceived ideas.
A three-week adventure, this Euro-Asian workshop planned for September 2008 certainly is an ambitious project, supported by the European Cultural Foundation and the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the 6th Vladivostok International Film Festival.
CineTrain is going to be held from 1th September to 21th September.
Application deadline: 31th of March
The members of the International Short Film Jury Marc Barbé (France), Ada Solomon (Romania) and Laura Tonke (Germany) award the following prizes:
The Golden Bear to O zi bună de plajă by Bogdan Mustaţă (Romania)
The film raises questions about its issues rather than bring resolution to them. It does so in a very precise and unpredictable way.
We feel that it is one of the most precious things when a film stays with you and keeps unravelling long after the final credits have ended.
The Silver Bear to Udedh bun by Siddharth Sinha (India)
The Silver Bear goes to Udedh bun for its modern narration. A sharp focus that relies on a harmony between images and sound rather than words.
We are also sensitive to the new erotica brought to the traditional figure of the desired woman in the history of cinema.
Prix UIP to Frankie by Darren Thornton (Ireland)
A simple and powerful approach. The straight forward point of view of a working class teenager on love, responsibility and fatherhood.
We also want to re-encourage the director in developing his project of short films for young makers.
DAAD Short Film Prize B teme by Olga Popova (Russian Federation)
We feel this film achieves a physical and sensual intimacy with its subjects without ever violating the secret of this intimacy. We wish to encourage the director’s talent as a filmmaker.
And two Special Mentions to
A special mention for directing goes to a film for its precise and sensitive direction on a topic which otherwise would have felt politically correct. Superfície by Rui Xavier.
A special mention for a very contemporary gesture in animation in a wonderful nasty sense of humour goes to RGB XYZ by David OReilly
Paris based short film festival is open for filmmakers, who have short films under the length of 3 minutes. This festival has a very nice atmosphere. If your film is selected it will be screened in more than 40 cities all around as the festival runs a franchise system. So here we go:
The festival of Very Short is about fifty films in an international selection, screened in only one meeting of a little bit more than two hours. It is also a competition, with four prices awarded by the Jury, and of course the price of the public awarded by you. It is also screenings organized simultaneously in forty cities in France and all around the world as well…
A new edition is actually in preparation and the festival of Très Short is more than ever present in about 40 cities to propose to you the best and undoubtedly the shortest of the international audio-visual film production.
Trés Court Film Festival
Deadline for registration: 12th February, 2008
Script&Pitch Workshops was founded in 2005 and is an advanced script-writing and development course for scriptwriters and story editors of films for both cinema and TV. It views European scriptwriting as something unique and special and therefore engage mostly European tutors, creating a healthy diversity between the individual styles of the single countries. The course lasts 10 months and it selects 20 participants from all over Europe (16 scriptwriters and 4 story editors) who will follow the whole scriptwriting process, offering education through the development of projects: From the generating of ideas and structuring of the material through a first and second draft up to a final pitch in front of invited producers and sales agents.
The tutors and organizers are experienced and well connected professionals, both in their countries and on a European level. It works from the assumption that every story needs its own individual approach, and that its form is determined by its content. Inspirational lessons from the course are shared through a yearly publication: Script&Pitch Insights, supporting our passion and aim to shed more light and dignity on the scriptwriting and story editing professions.
Course participation fee is 2.000 Euro.
This amount covers workshop training, on-line sessions, accommodation and subsistence. Participants must pay all travel costs.
For applicants from the new EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) the fee is 1.500 Euro and 2 scholarships are reserved to participants coming from these states. Scholarships will be assigned by merit.
We are happy to present, that our friends and partners, the organizers of Budapest Short Film Festival(BuSho) sent us the entry form and the deadline of BuSho 2008!
Enter your film, and have a few great days in Budapest at one of the coolest short film festival in Europe!
Please find the details below!
The 4th BuSho International Short Film Festival accepts entries
in the categories of fiction, animation and experimental film.
Entry deadline: 3. May 2008.
Online entry form here.
Details on: BuSho’s homepage!
Our aim is to give you an alternative platform where your film will appear alongside its equals instead of viral videos or karaoke performances as it would on YouTube.
Daazo is specialized in short films. However, it’s not enough just uploading your films and waiting for the audience. Since in most of the cases you are the director, cameraman and editor of your films at the same time, you should realize that it’s necessary being your own producer and - most importantly - your own distributor. So don’t hesitate to use the advantages of the Web. Now it’s easier than ever to show your film to your friends, instead of organizing screenings or sending dvds.
We figured out something we believe in, called “Distribution Game”. On Daazo you can choose a date for your uploaded films and on this particular date your film will be on the main page for 24 hours for sure. No other site offers this. This way, you are your own distributor, releasing your film on the date you choose. We are pretty sure that you also have your accounts on the popular social-network sites (Facebook, Digg, Del.icio.us, not to mention the popular video blogs: Milk and Cookies, Videobomb, Spike, Infectious of Films etc.) - don’t forget to upload your artwork there, too. When your films are on Daazo, they are in a different context from appearing on a video site. It is a film site for film-makers. Daazo is visited by people who want to watch something more valuable than karaoke.
People are waiting for your film. Just let them know they can watch it on Daazo!
It’s a positive experience for us, that several filmmaking communities have been dredged up during the past few months. We had had the feeling before we launched Daazo, that most of the ‘wannabe’ directors are focused on creating black&white art films, but we totally got it wrong.
For many youngster making a film means having fun - as they have only one purpose with the results: entertaining the audience - their friends.
Recently we got a film (which is the ‘editor’s choice’ of this week) uploaded by rickdeckard: The Legend of the Mountain Troll. The team seems to be the same, which made Bad Luck, another comedy. These guys take the filmmaking easy, they have enough passion though to realease their plans. A common point between the films is the stories are related somehow to a party with lots of alcohol - many jokes are familiar from everyone’s life.
We enjoy these films very much, and watch them again and again! Hope you too!
It is maybe a coincidence, or there is something in the air, but there will be a feature released with actor superstar Will Smith. It is about a survivor who is the last man on Earth. Our premiere this week has the same topic. A Lucky Bastard who managed to survive a deadly virus. But is it that good for him? Do you think you can do whatever?
We choose this film into our collection because it has a great power of irony. They way it was made - it was shot on DV, with some effects - is actually very funny and easy way of storytelling. They managed to create a unique world, which will make an effect on you for sure.
Daazo.com is the online center of European short Films. Beside of our weekly film premieres it is also a collection of short films made by you. Visit Daazo now!
20 Visons of Paris
Filmmakers from 20 countries discovered Paris.
Budapest Squares
What do squares as public areas mean to people? Short Documentaries.
It’s kind of duty for us watching the Oscar Ceremony, since we’ve had an Oscar-winner short on Daazo. It’s good to know, that among the flashy scenes at Kodak Theatre are not only high-budget features getting awarded; the next generation is already there with their short films.
Peter and the Wolf won the Oscar of Animated Shorts. British director Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman film’s is an animated version of Sergei Prokofiev’s musical tale for children, which was written and composed in 1936. Peter lives in a world where he has to confront evil and his struggle against the wolf leads to his transformation. A fragile little boy, Peter discovers his own strength and, with the help of a few friends, becomes a true hero.. Anne Thompson wrote: “If I had to predict a winner, this would be it… Templeton’s interpretation seems to favor the animals and even features a mushy new twist: after capturing the wolf, Peter lets the misunderstood beast go free, revealing the hunters as the true villains of the story.“
“Five years have past now since we organised the first time in Miskolc “CineFest”, the International Festival of Young Filmmakers. To our greatest pleasure near thousand filmmakers and ten thousands of spectators visited this event the last four years, from every corner of the world. Our goal, to give an occasion to the young directors under 35 years to show and measure their works at that festival, has been achieved. From year to year, our festival has became more and more succesful and talked about, a fact proven by the number of the films encreasing every year and by the recognition of many guests, experts and filmmakers, who are coming back to us year after year. We are getting lots of feedback from filmmakers who have been awarded at the first time at our festival, and since their works are regularly invited to other Hungarian and international festivals.” - Tibor Biró, President of the Festival
