DepicT! News

DepicT! '08 Shortlist

Mon, 06 October 00:00:00 +0100

DepicT! is delighted to announce the twelve films shortlisted for this year’s competition. These mini-movies were chosen from over 350 submissions in one of the strongest years we’ve ever had, and we feel this selection brilliantly exemplifies the broad range of possibilities within the 90 second format. You can watch them all here.

Many thanks to all who submitted their work to DepicT! ‘08, and congratulations to all the shortlisted filmmakers!

Breaking the Mould
Rebecca Manley and Luca Paulli
UK
CRAiNED
Merlin Crossingham
UK
Enough
Tor Kristoffersen
UK
Finishing Touch
Sebastian Cowan
UK
Grand Pier
Elle Farnham
UK
Happy Families – Mr Peep
Mole Hill
UK
In the Name of God
Sajad Kariman
Iran
Looking for Marilyn
Anna Blandford and Anna Valdez-Hanks
UK
No-One is Illegal
George Sander-Jackson
UK
That was This
Kajsa Bergergaard
Sweden
The Sting of the String
Madhi Jafari
Iran
What’s Virgin Mean?
Michael Davies
UK

Join us at Encounters Short Film Festival on Sat 22 Nov for the big screen premiere of the shortlisted films and a chance to meet the talent behind them at the DepicT! Showcase. Later that evening, winners of all three awards will be announced at the Encounters Awards Ceremony. For more details on these events and the whole festival, and to book tickets, visit the Encounters website.

In the meantime, we hope you can take a few minutes to watch the shortlisted films, leave us your comments, and rate each one out of five stars to help determine the winner of the Shooting People DepicT! Audience Award.

DepicT! '08 Update

Tue, 16 September 00:00:00 +0100

Many thanks to all the filmmakers who contributed their films to DepicT! '08. We received over 350 entries from 33 countries - including Brazil, Iran, Lebanon, Tajikistan and Uganda - and we're thoroughly impressed by the quality and diversity of all the films.

Right now we're watching all the films and will announce this year's shortlisted mini-movies on Monday 6 October. Be sure to come back then to watch the shorts, rate each one to help decide the Shooting People DepicT! Audience Award winner, and leave your comments.

Additional Judge Confirmed

Fri, 29 August 00:00:00 +0100

We’re pleased that Kenneth Tan, director of the Singapore Film Commission and Chief Operating Officer of the Media Development Authority of Singapore, has been confirmed as a DepicT! ‘08 judge, adding an international angle to the panel of film professionals. He claims to watch over 400 films a year, so will no doubt bring a sharp eye to the competition! You can read his full bio here.

GFF Call for Entries

Wed, 20 August 00:00:00 +0100

Our friends at the Glasgow Film Festival have now started the submission process for 2009 and are looking for features, shorts and work in all genres. The Festival is committed to supporting Scottish talent and providing audiences with the opportunity to see the best of world cinema.

The 5th Glasgow Film Festival will run from Thu 12 to Sun 22 Feb '09 in venues throughout the city. The Festival is the fastest-growing film event in Britain, attracting audiences of over 20,000 in 2008 when it played host to a bumper array of UK premieres.

Deadline for submissions is Fri 31 Oct '08. Booking forms and all information can be found at their website.

DepicT! Picks No. 3

Tue, 19 August 00:00:00 +0100

Here’s a witty little treat from San Francisco-based animator and comic artist Lev Yilmaz about a subject most of us know all too well...

Don’t procrastinate too long though! The DepicT! ’08 deadline on Mon 8 Sept is fast approaching, so don’t delay in sending us your 90 second shorts to be in the running for the top award of £2000 and other fantastic prizes.

Do you know of any other micro-movies that you think should feature in DepicT! Picks? Let us know!

NOISE Call for Entries

Mon, 18 August 00:00:00 +0100

Do you upload stuff on YouTube, MySpace and such to show off your creativity?

Are you 25 or under and interested in getting an international platform to show off your creative work?

Deadline: Mon 1 Sept

Not your normal arts festival, NOISE takes place on its website and across the media - print, television, radio and online - making it the first 'virtual' festival of its kind in Europe. NOISE is a national charity which helps young people with talent gain opportunities in the Creative Industries, so it’s free to take part!

NOISE exhibits the very best in creative talent from people 25 and under - any creative work that can be presented digitally (on screen or on air) including across fashion, film, music, design, architecture, written word, graphic design, fine art and illustration.

During the festival in October 2008, top NOISE talent will hijack the nation's press via our media partners, including BBC, MTV and MSN, and creative magazines will provide features, profiles and programmes to help kick-start your creative careers, and secure a credible, far reaching platform to promote your work.

The deadline for submissions to the NOISE Festival 2008 is Mon 1 Sept. Visit their website for more information and to see work from the 2006 festival.

DepicT! '08 Judges

Wed, 30 July 00:00:00 +0100

There’s just over a month until the deadline, and this year’s DepicT! submissions are piling up! Narrowing down all these great films to a shortlist and then a winner is always a challenging process, but we’re absolutely delighted to announce that the fabulous industry panel who will help us with the task this year includes:

Nik Powell, film producer and director of the National Film and Television School
Simon Relph, film producer and former chairman of BAFTA
Kate Taylor, festival director of Abandon Normal Devices, festival of new cinema and digital culture based at FACT in Liverpool, and co-director of the Halloween/London Short Film Festival
Luis Cook, Aardman animator and director of the multi-award winning The Pearce Sisters
Matthew Walker, DepicT! ‘07 winner for Operator, recently named one of Screen International’s UK Stars of Tomorrow
David Gilbert, DepicT! ‘07 Shooting People Audience Award winner for The Picnic

Look here for full judge bios.

The deadline for DepicT! ‘08 is Mon 8 Sept, 1700hrs (BST). The shortlisted films will be announced on Mon 6 Sept, from which time you’ll be able to watch them here as well as leave your comments and rate each film to help determine the Audience Award winner. Winners will be announced during Encounters Short Film Festival in Bristol, UK, on Sat 29 Nov.

DepicT! Picks No. 2

Mon, 28 July 00:00:00 +0100

Amnesty International has launched short film The Stuff of Life to raise awareness of waterboarding, the highly controversial practice of torturing prisoners by partially drowning them. At only 90 seconds, it uses the style of a glossy advert to add to its shock value as it powerfully conveys the terror of this technique.

Part of Amnesty International's Unsubscribe Me campaign, the film is a joint work by media agency Drugstore and filmmakers Marc Hawker and Ishbel Whitaker. It features performance artist Jiva Parthipan as well as music composed specially for the film by Adam Freeland. In addition to streaming on the website, it has been screening before feature films across the UK, including at Watershed before Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure from Fri 1 August.

To find out more about the film, there's also a 'making of' feature.

DepicT! Filmmakers in the News

Wed, 16 July 00:00:00 +0100

Big congratulations to DepicT! filmmakers Joseph Pierce and Matthew Walker for being named two of Screen International's UK Stars of Tomorrow.

Joseph's films Big on Love and State of Nature were shortlisted in 2006 and 2007 respectively, while Matthew's film Operator was last year's DepicT! winner. It's easy to see why their talents were recognised - though quite different, both animators bring a distinctive style and voice to their work, and we can't wait to see what they do next!

Read the full articles here and here...

DepicT! at Rushes Soho Shorts

Mon, 07 July 00:00:00 +0100

It’s all about shorts! We are only 4 weeks away from this year’s Rushes Soho Shorts Festival and the shortlisted filmmakers have been selected. The festival is bigger that ever, spanning ten days from July 23rd to August 3rd. There will be a huge number of events and guest programmes lined up to keep you entertained and amused.

DepicT! are delighted to be guests at the festival, presenting last year's shortlist along with the DepicT! All-time Top Ten programme in four screenings throughout the festival:

Thu 24 July, 1100hrs, Curzon Soho Mini-Cine
Sat 26 July, 1400hrs, Crown & Two Chairmen
Mon 28 July, 1200hrs, Crown & Two Chairmen
Tue 29 July, 1100hrs, Curzon Soho Mini-Cine

Other events include competition category screenings from 10am each day at Curzon Soho, lunch seminars at Foyles at 1pm each weekday and a Shooting People panel discussion at 5pm every weekday afternoon. In and around these you’ll find guest programmes and screenings to keep you titillated, tantalised and, in some cases, probably a little troubled. The weekend includes a series of presentations from Jenny Hammerton and MAC Cosmetics, Tom Rob Smith and Simon & Schuster with Nicko Straniero and Tenderpixel Gallery completing line up on Saturday. On Sunday it’s all about the Aussies! There will be a horror double bill and Q&A with producer David Lightfoot, followed by an exclusive screening of shorts from the SHORTS Film Festival, one of Australia’s leading short film festivals.

More info and a full schedule can be found here.