Spring 2007 - The Cannes-Do Experience

Three Filmmakers Win Top Prize in MPM's Spring 2007 Short Film Contest
By Contest Director Laurie A. Trotta

Three talented filmmakers were whisked off to the Cannes Film Festival in May following well-earned wins in the Spring 2007 MPM Short Film Contest.

The Contest not only offered the winner in each category a trip to what is arguably most prestigious film festival in the world, but also earned each filmmaker a featured slot in the Moving Pictures section of the Cannes Short Film Corner. Films were screened at a special event in the Palais, and the filmmakers were on hand to shake hands, network and soak up the heady atmosphere of the South of France during festival week, courtesy of Moving Pictures magazine.

Organized by the Marché du Film, the Cannes Short Film Corner is a testament to France's principles of egalité and fraternité. Nearly 3,000 shortfilm-makers from more than 80 countries participated in this year's event.

The Short Film Corner is a hive of activity that is both fun and hugely helpful to filmmakers, exposing them to people and places usually reserved for those at the pinnacle of their creative careers. The event is usually further limited to the well-funded filmmaker - unless, of course, you won Moving Pictures' contest and received those daunting costs to Cannes paid for.

A Nick in Time, by New York filmmaker Be' Garrett, took the magazine's narrative award. The piece plays homage to the role of the beloved barbershop in the social strata of black neighborhoods, and reflects upon the importance of critical decisions made in mere moments but which can change a young person's life forever.  

• Best Narrative: Nick of Time - Director, Be' Garrett
  Synopsis:
  An old-school Brooklyn barber recounts an incident from his past to a troubled young man who is on the verge of making a major life-altering decision. But can the barber get through to him before things spiral out of control?

Jessica Habie, whose documentary Meet Me Out of the Siege is a compelling look at artists caught in the crossfire of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was flown to the festival from Israel, where she continues her work on Middle Eastern relations. 

• Best Documentary: Meet Me Out of the Siege - Director, Jessica Habie
  Synopsis:
  Hani Zu'rob, one of Palestine's most prominent emerging visual artists, has been stuck in Paris for more than a year. Originally traveling to France for a rarely permitted three-month stay, Hani has been unable to return to his wife and homeland due to Israel's severance of diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority after the democratic election of the Hamas Government. Hani is joined in Paris by another deeply respected Palestinian artist, Kamal Boullatta, who shares his own story of exile that began in 1967. Meet Me Out of the Siege unravels the stories of both men, and observes as these two resilient and patient artists reflect on the origins of creativity, the pressures of everyday life under occupation, and the geometric language of exile.

Animation winner and fine artist Roland Becerra took the prize for his haunting tale Dear Beautiful - a piece that attempts to "make people feel as if they were looking at a painting." A recent graduate, Roland joined the MPM group in Cannes from his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 

• Best Animation: Dear Beautiful - director, Roland Becerra
  Synopsis:
  Don't rip souls apart.
  The sudden appearance of exotic flowers in New Haven spawns an unprecedented epidemic that threatens to destroy the city.  Paul and Lauren, a married couple, are caught between the catastrophe and their own troubled relationship. Lauren comes in contact with one of the flowers and becomes infected. Though her symptoms worsen, Paul's denial of her illness puts the couple in grave danger. As the city is overrun with infected people, media frenzy, National Guard, protestors and a panicked populace, Paul struggles to save both their lives.

Window, by L.A. filmmaker Varda Hardy, won the  Audience Choice award. Honored by members of the public who voted for their favorite after viewing submissions to www.movingpicturesmagazie.com, Hardy is no stranger to the MPM family. Her film Moon was a runner-up in the Winter 2006 contest and is featured on the MPM DVD.   

• Audience Choice Award: Window - Director, Varda Hardy
  Synopsis:
  Nurse Jackson (Cassandra Braden) wheels two ailing veterans into a hospital room.  Gene gets the bed by the window.  Ralph, an angry amputee, ends up on the other side of the room. Separated by a curtain, they can't see each other, but Ralph won't let Gene alone.  He wants that "window seat."  When Gene dies and Ralph finally gets to the window, what he sees brings him to a painful realization.  He wants Gene back. Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. and Robert Peters give moving performances as the two ailing veterans.  

Runners-up of the Spring 2007 contest, who receive an opportunity for inclusion in the next edition of the Moving Pictures DVD collection, are:

Documentary
First Runner-Up: Angola Prison Football; Director: Matt Ogens
Second Runner-Up: Go Out and Make Your Film; Director: Timothy Shiner

Animation
First Runner-Up: Once Upon a Christmas Village; Director: Michael Attardi
Second Runner-Up: That Darn Jesus; Director: Gary Hardwick

Narrative
First Runner-Up: The Cleaner; Director: Noel Kearns
Second Runner-Up: Paperboat; Director: Daphne Lambrinou

The short film contests continue MPM's commitment to fostering dynamic filmmaking. "In an industry where connections are everything, this is an exciting opportunity for filmmakers to receive exposure at the world's biggest film festival and market, and to be able to meet and network with industry insiders," says C. Margaret Tritch, MPM publisher.

Earlier this year, winners of the Fall 2006 Moving Pictures Magazine Short Film Contest were flown and housed in Park City, Utah, during Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals courtesy of Moving Pictures Magazine. The winners had access to the Moving Pictures Lounge and were honored at the Moving Pictures VIP party on opening weekend. Two of the finalists from this contest also attended Cannes with Moving Pictures and the American Pavilion student program, where they were given an amazing opportunity to learn more about filmmaking through the American Pavilion's program - which included talks with Michael Moore and internships with the Moving Pictures crew.

A hearty "Congratulations!" to all who entered.

Distinguished Judges for the Spring 2007 MPM Short Film Contest

Bruce Sheridan
Bruce Sheridan is chairperson of the Film & Video Department at Columbia College Chicago, the largest film school in the U.S., with around 2,300 students enrolled in its graduate and undergraduate programs. Professor Sheridan has served on the board of the Illinois Production Alliance (IPA) since its inception and is a member of the Illinois Governor's Visual Media Task Force. Before coming to Chicago in 2001, he was head of Film & TV at UNITEC and development producer at South Pacific Pictures (both in New Zealand). Sheridan has written, produced and directed for film, television and theater for more than 20 years, and in 1999 won the New Zealand Best Drama Award for the tele-feature "Lawless." In December 2006, Sheridan completed a short animated film called Return of a Free Radical that pays homage to direct cinema pioneer Len Lye. He is currently directing This Song Is Old , a full-length documentary on the Bnei Menashe people of northeastern India, and developing a feature film called Hunting Daniel set in Peru and Panama.

Jeffrey Lieber
Based in Venice, California, television and screenwriter Jeffrey Lieber, a former playwright and actor who honed his craft at Chicago theatrical institutions such as Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens and the Organic, is best known as one of the co-creators of the television show "Lost."  Previous to "Lost," Lieber wrote numerous pilots for Fox, ABC and NBC, and is currently developing a series with Showtime. On the feature-film side, Lieber recently wrote Universal Pictures' The Express, which is currently in production and stars Dennis Quaid. He is also credited for Disney's 2002 film Tuck Everlasting, featuring William Hurt, Sissy Spacek and Ben Kingsley. Lieber is in-process on a live-action version of Alice In Wonderland for producer John Davis and Fox. He lives with his wife, singer-songwriter Holly Long; their two children; a dog; three cats; and a tank full of fish.

Guy Jacobson
Guy Jacobson has worked as an attorney in some of the leading law firms in New York City (Brown & Wood, and O'Melveny and Myers), and as investment banker (D. E. Shaw and UBS ). He has held a number of senior executive positions, managing international companies, divisions and projects. Over the past 20 years, Jacobson has produced numerous hours of television and a successful Off Broadway show. His work in the K11 Project, illuminating the tragic enslavement of children into prostitution, was featured in Moving Pictures in 2006. Jacobson has written and published 15 books and more than 1,000 newspaper and magazine articles. Three of his screenplays were co-written with two-time Academy Award-nominee Julian Chagrin. He has produced three full feature films that will be released in 2007-2008, while his film Holly has been invited to more than 50 international film festivals and has received high acclaim by critics worldwide.

Previous Contest Winners Reap Long-Term Benefits of Association with MPM in the Highly Competitive Cannes Internship Program

Becoming a winner of an MPM Short Film Contest brings long-term benefits. Winners and runners-up of the Winter 2006 contest were offered a rare opportunity to participate in the Student Work-Study Program of the American Film Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival.

The American Pavilion has been the focus of the U.S. film industry's presence at the Cannes Film Festival since 1989, serving as a communications and hospitality center for journalists, publicists, celebrities, filmmakers and motion picture executives working at the Festival. Students accepted to the program stay in Cannes for the duration of the Festival, completing a work placement and participating in educational workshops, seminars, pitch sessions, roundtable discussions and screenings. Each program participant is given an official accreditation badge, allowing access to the Festival and Film Market that is otherwise available only to industry professionals.

Approximately 140 students are accepted each year, and Moving Pictures Magazine Short Film Contest winners and runners-up were able to take part in this highly competitive program. Two of our past runners-up took advantage of the offer. Thus, 2006 runners-up Varda Hardy and Roze were in Cannes for the educational experience of a lifetime, and also there to cheer on the new contest winners at the MPM Cannes Event in the Palais.