Unitec launches student film festival

hursday 1 September 2011

Unitec Institute of Technology is proud to announce the launch of a new student film festival, set up to showcase emerging student talent from New Zealand, and around the world.

Uni Shorts International Student Film Festival opens for submissions from today (September 1), and all current film students enrolled in tertiary study, as well as recent grads, are invited to take part.

The festival - thought to be the first of its kind in the country - will combine a competition, film screenings and discussion forums, and is planned to take place in April 2012.

"We realised that there was a gap in the Australasian region for the showcasing of tertiary student work. Given that the quality has increased tremendously and many of these films screen internationally, we felt they deserved to be seen by a wider New Zealand audience," says Athina Tsoulis, Head of Unitec's Performing and Screen Arts Department, which originated the initiative.

"We anticipate that the festival will not just screen work, but provide a platform for discussion on the issues that affect all emerging film makers and the landscape they are entering."

Film students and recent graduates all over the world can enter their work, which must have been made as a requirement of their tertiary study. The work must have been made between March 2010 and November 2011.

The festival will feature 100 per cent student work, no more than 20 minutes in duration.

The categories are: fiction, non-fiction, animation and non-narrative. The cost to enter is set at an affordable level - NZ$40 for earlybirds and NZ$50 full price - to encourage participation.

There will be prizes (Euro$1000) for best local, best international and best film overall, as well as outstanding performance, chosen by a panel of judges.

Submissions close on November 30.

For entry forms to the competition and festival, go to www.unishorts.unitec.ac.nz

ENDS

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