Short film pitch competitions winners announced.
Announcement of Top 5 winners for International Short Film Pitch Competition
Thank you so much for your submission to International Short Film Pitch Competition. Out of 1653 (83 countries/regions), we proudly announce the Top 5 winners.
【Competition Outline】
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia and avex digital Inc. have established one of the world’s biggest short film pitch competitions, which will be chance to receive fund a production with a budget of up to 100 million JPY*. The project is the result of a collaboration between avex digital, a company driving the expansion of the entertainment industry’s video market, and the Academy Awards® accredited Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, one of the largest international short film festivals in Asia. The aim of this competition is to exceed international borders in supporting the realization of a genuinely interesting pitch that truly deserves to be made into a film by offering up to 100 million JPY in production costs. This search for new talent targets filmmakers and producers working in a world where even the most excellent pitches can be considered unfeasible. The top five pitches submitted will be chosen in the primary selection. Following this, the author of the best pitch overall will be awarded prize money and be offered the chance to receive a production budget of up to 100 million JPY. The completed short film will have its world premiere at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2017 and be submitted to film festivals around the globe thereafter.
TOP 5 Pitch Winners
Tony Asimakopoulos (Director)
Tony Asimakopoulos is a Montreal-based producer and director of Greek origin. He’s a graduate of Concordia Universoty’s prestigious film program and his early dramatic short films were shown at TIFF, Locarno, Goteburg, Melbourne and Clermont-Ferrand. After years of teaching film programs for youth-at-risk, he returned to directing. His first feature documentary, “Fortunate Son”, played at numerous festivals and became one of the highest grossing theatrical documentaries in Quebec in 2012.
Nikhil Iyengar (Director/Writer)
Living in NY and originally from India. His first short film “Borrowed Time” was selected for the NY Indian Film Festival. He has also won 2nd prize in a South Asian writing competition. He enjoy traveling and have lived and studied in India, UK, Spain and the US.
Marina Kunarova (Director/Writer)
Marina Kunarova was born on 28.05.1973 in Kazakhstan. She is a director and scriptwriter. Marina has been working in the film industry since she was 17. She started as an assistant for a director and in 15 years she built her way up to writing scripts as well as directing commercials, documentaries, tv series and films. She also attended John Truby’s script writing training program.
Harrison Macks (Director/Writer)
Harrison Macks is a writer, producer, and director with a love for visual, powerful story telling that engages audiences and eaves them thinking and discussing. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Harrison moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a filmmaker. He has since worked in the Motion Picture department at William Morris Endeavor and as a Creative Executive at the production/finance company, Sycamore Pictures. As a director, Harrison is currently prepping for and in production on a number of short films and music videos.
Tini Wider (Producer)
Tini Wider has 10+ years of experience leading teams of 10-100 staff members. She has managed projects ranging from micro to high budgets. She is a creative professional who combines an in-depth understanding of production processes and technology to support and/or lead the development of television, film and animation production. She has worked in many different roles including production manager, line producer and animation coordinator.
Best pitch will be announced on Mon, May 2nd.