Theatrical
OSCAR HOPEFUL SHORTS WITH COLIN FIRTH, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, JULIA STILES AND PERRY CHEN
ShortsHD at the Movies Presented by Shorts International
Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, and Julia Stiles are some of the names you would expect for the Academy Awards, but a surprise for a showcase of 12 film shorts in ShortsHD at the Movies. Presented by Shorts International, ShortsHD at the Movies was held from September 20-22, 2011 at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles.
Winning an Academy Award® is the dream of many in the entertainment industry. For the 84th Annual Academy Awards©, telecast in 2012, for a short film to be eligible for award consideration, one of the qualifying criteria methods is to be publicly exhibited for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theatre in Los Angeles County for a run of at least 3 consecutive days with at least 2 screenings a day.
An invitation-only reception with filmmakers and actors opened my eyes. Previously I had thought of short films as mini movies animations and independent movies with up and coming actors with budgets falling short of a feature. I did not expect the star studded caliber of acting talent in the shorts.
Julies Stiles is brilliant in "Sexting", directed by Neil Labette. She is talking directly to the audience, as if you were the wife of her boyfriend she wanted answers from. After watching her, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part.
Tim Harms , the producer of "Sexting" gave insight into how simple the process could be, "The actress received the material on Friday and learned 6 pages of dialogue over the weekend. He told us we started with 5 takes, aborted 3 for bad sound and the third take, the first complete take was more or less 90% of the movie."
Alicia Witt, loses the lover of her life in "The Pond". Your mind expands to the meaning of life and living with a visit by David Morse at a very special pond. I was drawn into the movie and could easily see how "The Pond" could be expanded to a feature film.
Written and directed by Dan Hannon, he told us the movie is magical "The water holds a secret, and that's when David Morse (Adam11) shows up and that's when the fabric of reality happens and she has to choose between sacrifice and oblivion."
Alicia Witt (Shelly) glowed when talking about the short, "This was an amazing experience, and I think what's incredible about this film is that it really attracted people who connected with the story on a very deep level both in front and behind the camera."
Colin Firth visits Keira Knightley and Tom Mason, his neighbors downstairs, in a too awkward and frequent visit all for a cup of tea in the short "Steve". Brilliant as one would expect with the caliber of talent and unsettling. Directed by Rupert Friend, and with credits including a couple Knighteys, including her elder brother, it's evident that the entertainment business is all in the family. Look forward to seeing more Knightleys making an impression.
Perry Chen shined being the youngest filmmaker by far at only 11 years old and having the only animation short at Shorts HD at the movies. Chen's animation short, "Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest" is about the escape of young Ingrid Pitt, an 8 year old Jewish girl, from a concentration camp. Narrated by Ingrid Pitt recalling her experience, Chen created the animation in collaboration with Oscar® nominated Bill Plympton, who he had met at Comic-Con a couple years ago. It premiered earlier this year at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
"I feel great! I'm glad that my film which is the only animation film shown at ShortsHD at the Movies was going to be included" shared Chen when I asked about being included in with short films including actors Julia Stiles, Keira Knightley and Colin Firth.
Digging further, I noted that he was at the ShortsHD at the Movies with some pretty big names, some of which had already won Oscars®. "Well, I hope to win one too!" intimated Chen. The dream of many, and as Chen clearly shows, you're never too young to dream about winning an Academy Award®.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION:
The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.
SHORTS INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS “SHORTSHD AT THE MOVIES”
Short Film Network Hosts Star-Studded Reception
LOS ANGELES – Shorts International, the world’s leading network devoted exclusively to short film entertainment, presents “ShortsHD at the Movies,” a night of short films that will not be short on star power. The invitation-only reception to spotlight some of the year’s best short filmmakers and actors will be held on Sept. 20, 2011 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at CGV Cinemas (621 South Western Ave.). A public screening of a selection of short films from around the globe will follow, featuring such Hollywood big-hitters as Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina and Julia Stiles.
Steve, directed by Rupert Friend and starring Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and Tom Mison, tops the evening’s bill. The film follows a middle-aged man (Firth) on his frequent and rather unusual visits with his upstairs neighbors (Knightley and Mison).
Giving audiences a look at romance in the modern age, Sexting, written and directed by Neil Labute (Death at a Funeral) and starring Julia Stiles, will be a highlight of the event. The film’s simple premise – two women talking about relationships in a cafθ – underscores Labute’s mastery of dialogue.
ShortsHD’s selection of incredible films that will be screened September 20-22nd include:
The Pond - Directed Dan Hannon, starring Alicia Witt & David Morse
Dissection Of A Storm - Directed Julio Soto, starring Cristina Piaget
Summer Snapshot - Directed by Ian McCluskey, starring Anna Ferrell
Lessons In Self Defense - Directed by Lee Miller, starring Alfred Molina
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest - By Perry Chen, Kevin Sean Michaels, & Bill Plympton
Crush - Directed by Matthew A. Brown, starring Emily Stangl
Hammered - Directed by Steve Lewis, written by Noel Clarke
Mumbai Charlie - Directed by Deepak Verma, starring Kulbinder Ghir
The Last Passenger - Directed by Mounes Khammar, Music by Fairuz
Lost Bullets - Directed by Mono Ghose, produced by Arno Hazebroek
Grave Dawn - Directed by D.J. Turner, produced by Charlie Hofheimer
ABOUT SHORTSHD
ShortsHD™ is the first high definition channel dedicated to short movies and is available on DIRECTV (Channel 568), Dish Network (Channel 375) and AT&T U-Verse (Channel 1789). ShortsHD™ is operated by Shorts International, the world’s leading short movie entertainment company with the world’s largest movie catalogue dedicated to short movies. Shorts International also operates ShortsTV™, which is available in France, Belgium, Luxembourg on Numericable (Channels 134 and 52) and in Turkey via TTNET's Tivibu service. Shorts™ is the short movie on-demand service available on iTunes movie stores in the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan and throughout Europe. The company is headquartered in London, England with additional offices in Paris and Los Angeles and is led by Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive. Shorts International is owned by Shorts Entertainment Holdings and Liberty Global Ventures.
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LIVE ACTION
GOD OF LOVE
Lounge-singing darts champion Raymond Goodfellow finds his prayers are answered -- literally -- when he receives a mysterious package of passion-inducing darts. The catch is that the one woman he loves -- Kelly, a drummer in his band -- is already in love with Ray's best friend Fozzie, the guitarist in the band. But when Ray uses the darts in a loony scheme to resolve this strange romantic triangle, he learns a surprising lesson about unrequited love and discovers his own place in the universe. Romance is in the air in this bohemian charmer.
NA WEWE
1994: There is a civil war in Burundi, a small country in central Africa that directly borders Rwanda. When a gang of Hutu rebels attack a minibus, the ‘selection’ process begins. But who is a Hutu and who is a Tutsi?
THE CONFESSION
Quiet and sincere 9-year-old Sam is worried about making his first confession. His conscience is clear, therefore he cannot hope for any relief from the experience. He and his friend Jacob decide to remedy that situation, but their initially innocent prank turns unexpectedly tragic.
THE CRUSH
Ardal Travis is in love. There's just one problem. He's an 8 year old schoolboy and the object of his affection is his Second Class teacher, Miss Purdy. But when her boyfriend arrives on the scene Ardal is heartbroken. His reaction, though, is a little unexpected. He challenges Miss Purdy's boyfriend to a duel. To the death.
WISH 143
A fifteen-year-old boy with only months to live is granted one wish from the Dreamscape Charity. But David doesn't want to go to Disneyland or meet Gary Neville; what he really wants is an hour alone with a naked woman.
ANIMATION
THE LOST THING
A boy discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Realising it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but is met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. For reasons he does not explain, the boy empathises with the creature, and sets out to find a 'place' for it.
MADAGASCAR
This film is a journey diary that redraws the trip of a European traveller confronted with Famadihana customs. As pages of a diary turn, colorful pencil sketches come to life, revealing the majestic rolling landscapes of Madagascar, and acquainting the audience to the people of the Malagasy culture.
LET'S POLLUTE
In the spirit of 50's and 60's educational films, "Let's Pollute" is a modern satire on how pollution is our heritage and keeps our economy growing strong, while instructing us how to be better polluters for a better blighted tomorrow.
DAY AND NIGHT
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities - and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world - the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.
