If you’re familiar with short film festivals, then you’ve probably heard about Shnit. I didn’t know Shnit, but being an avid fan of film I made a point of checking out what it’s all about.
Shnit is an international short film festival that takes place once year, simultaneously across the globe. This year, the ninth edition of the Shnit International Shortfilmfestival takes place from 5-9 October 2011 and the exciting news is that one of the venues is in Cape Town. The other venues are Bern, Switzerland; Koln, Germany; Wien, Austria; San Jose, Costa Rica and Singapore, offering a global platform for filmmakers to showcase their work. There are various categories, with the main category, the Shnit-OPEN International Competition fielding 300 short films from over 32 different countries, all chasing a prize of over R250 000, which is a shnitload!
This will be the second year that Shnit hits the Mother City and something special has been added to this year’s festival, which is set to spark local talent.
Shnit gets real
It’s called the Shnit Realtime Competition and this is the challenge:
Three local filmmakers will compete over the course of the festival week (Monday 3 October to Friday 7 October) to shoot, edit and score a short film. Each short will be filmed with the same equipment and a script written from the same inspiration point. This year’s theme is Cape of Storms, which aims to touch on the historical and artistic aspects of Cape Town. According to Alasdair McCulloch, the competition organiser, it’s a theme that can be interpreted in many different senses, from literal storms, to fights, break ups or perhaps even something more experimental.
The films will be screened publicly for the first time at the closing night of the Shnit Shortfilmfestival Awards Ceremony on 9 October 2011 and the winner is chosen by the audience on the night.
Details
Check out more details of the Shnit Realtime Film Competition on their website or visit them on Facebook. More importantly, do yourself a favour and go check out the best of local and international film. The festival will be screened from 7-9 October at the Labia in Cape Town. And, as a bonus for all you Rocking the Daisies festival goers (of which I am one), the short films will be screened at the Rocking the Daisies Festival over the same weekend.
