Short is Sweet Part 3: What film festivals focus on short films?

Short is Sweet part 3:  What film festivals focus on short films? 

 

Kibera Film School trainees discussing their short documentary project

First:  Ask yourself is your film ready to enter a film festival? 

Is it a great story, well told?

Excellent production quality, including sound?

Subtitles:

Note that most film festivals will require subtitles in English if that is not the original language of the film.

BE SURE TO spell check the subtitles.

Remember subtitles are NOT an exact translation but should give the idea of what is being said.

Suggestion:

Good idea to do TWO versions of your short film - one with subtitles in English, one without subtitles. 

Be sure to prepare a dialog list in English. 

Although most film festivals have a section for short films and usually it is easier to get a short film into a festival than a feature, not all festivals pay careful attention to short films. 

There are a number of international festivals that focus on the short film.

An excellent resource for short film festivals is http://www.shortfilmdepot.com/

Enter your films easily into the major festivals around the world using one single form:

Create your account

Fill out fill forms (cast & crew, contact details, formats, photo...)

Upload your film on line

Enter your films into the festivals where submissions are currently open

Check-out the progress of your submissions (online entry, validation, selection)

Short Film Depot gives you a list of current short film festivals all over the world. 

You have to choose which ones to enter.

Here are some things to consider:

Check the deadline dates carefully.

Choose international film festivals with no entry fee and preferably with an international competition for awards.

Be sure to notice what are the rules for entering the competitions.

Wikipedia has a long long list of film festivals that accept short films.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_short_film_festivals

Good luck!  

 

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Short is Sweet part 2

 

Short is Sweet  part 2: What makes a great short film?

Second in a series of blogs about short films

Heinz Hermanns, CEO of Interfilm Berlin, an international film festival and distribution center for short films  www.interfilm.de/en/ described what is a good short film, during his recent visit to Hot Sun Foundation in Kibera, Nairobi.

 

What makes a good short film (according to Heinz Hermanns, Interfilm Berlin).

Preproduction and feedback  are CRUCIAL to filmmaking

Filmmakers in Kenya need to be more critical. Exchange your ideas, scripts: get and give feedback.  Must have a great story or you don't have a film.  Get feedback from the beginning of the concept.

Short film: must have an audio visual concept, seduce the spectator to take part emotionally and intellectually

Short film: must work immediately, grab attention of audience, something interesting,

Must be visual.

Story development: must work.  Can make NO mistakes (feature films can have some)

Short film must be more original than a feature film, have something special. Very little time to tell the story

MUST BE COMPLETE: with an ending… not just stop

Components of a great short film:

Plan:the look of the film

Color concept: palette

Mood

Intensity

Sound: must develop the audio concept before shooting. MUST have quality sound.

Suggest: Be careful with music, especially piano music which can overwhelm the visual. 

Casting: Actors key

Camera: must hold attention of audience

Every frame is a composition like a painting

Some elements of bad short films

•            Too long

•            Do not care about your audience

•            TV aesthetics

•            A copy of another film or story

•            Choose team carefully

•            Seduce not provoke audience

•            Accept criticism

•            Don't make it too personal

•            Not a slide show of a series of stills

•            MUST have good sound and sound concept

To be continued. Comments welcome on this blogspot or info@hotsunfoundation.org

NEXT: Third blog in short films series:  What film festivals focus on short films?  

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To support the great youth of the Kibera Film School, please visit our Global Giving Page