Depression Era Decadence Captured On Film

EMBARGOED UNTIL FRIDAY 7TH OCTOBER 2011

Depression Era Decadence Captured On Film

Adventure, eroticism, decadence and culinary delights populate this year’s harvest of the best short films from New Zealand and abroad.

The programme for the sixth annual Show Me Shorts Film Festival was announced last night, and Festival Director Gina Dellabarca drew parallels to depression era escapism pictures, saying: “These films capture a snap-shot of the state of mind of New Zealand and international artists in the last year. A sort-of ‘temperature-taking’ of the nation and the world, if you allow that our artists and story tellers capture the kinds of stories we demand.”

The 47 films in this year’s programme, selected from hundreds of entries, will be divided up for screening into seven themed sessions: Master Chef, Unlikely Bedfellows, Small Pleasures, Unexpected Adventure, Love You to Death, Extreme Measures and Hitting the Road. For the first time this year, Show Me Shorts will screen international films from outside of New Zealand and Australia. The international line-up has been added in response to audience demand and includes films from France, UK, Germany/South Africa, Ireland and the USA.

Local highlights include internationally award winning ‘Blue’ by Stephen Kang, which screened at Cannes this year, and the first short film by Tammy Davis (Outrageous Fortune’s Munter) ‘Ebony Society’, which featured at this year’s Sundance and Berlin festivals. Previous Show Me Shorts Best Film winner Jackie van Beek is back with a new film this year ‘Go the Dogs’, shot in Australia. Programming assistance from Kerry Film Festival in Ireland led to the inclusion of two Irish shorts: comedy ‘Cold Turkey’ and romantic drama ‘Crossword.’ Melbourne International Film Festival also recommended several Australian shorts including a cross dressing comedy and an animated road movie.

Auckland filmmakers shine, supplying over a quarter of the selected films. Dellabarca particularly recommends ‘Plimpton’ a bittersweet relationship drama set through the recognisable streets of inner city Auckland, and ‘Last Flight’ about an astronaut stranded on another world.

The Show Me Shorts awards for 2011 will be announced at the Opening & Awards night on Thursday 3 November at the Capitol Cinema in Auckland. Previous winners have included Jacki van Beek, Phill Simmonds, Matthew Sunderland, Kate McDermott, Cameron Rhodes, James Cunningham, Mark Albiston & Louis Sutherland. The awards will be decided by a panel of experienced industry judges including producer Catherine Fitzgerald (The Orator, Two Cars One Night). Tickets for this event are available to the public and include screenings of the award winning films.

Show Me Shorts expands to twelve locations nationwide this year. Auckland venues open 3 November and will move to the recently renovated Capitol Cinema on Dominion Road, and Northcote’s Bridgeway Cinema. Cinemas in Waiheke Island and Matakana also return to the festival. Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin locations begin on 10 November and the remaining smaller regional locations follow from 17 November.

Six participants have also been announced for the Short Film Lab. Selected from over 60 applicants, the participants in the 2011 Short Film Lab are: Jodie Hillock, Adam Harvey, Rebecca Barnes, Troy Blackman, Kelly Hunt, and Nic Sampson. A joint venture between Script to Screen and Show Me Shorts, the Short Film Lab builds on the overwhelming success of the inaugural Short Film Lab in 2010, which assisted six short film makers. Two of these (Lauren Jackson and Renae Maihi) went on to secure funding from NZFC's Fresh Shorts scheme this year. This lab is inspired by labs run by major A-list film festivals such as Sundance and has been made possible thanks to support from NZFC and the University of Auckland.

For the full Show Me Shorts programme, schedules and other information visit the official website www.showmeshorts.co.nz.

- ENDS
-
-

© Scoop Media