Northern Alliance - BFI
Northern Alliance - BFI
Northern Alliance - BFI
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Beyond Europe 1: New Zealand Film Commission‟s (NZFC) short film strategy<br />
Outside Europe, New Zealand provides an interesting example of a smaller<br />
country whose focused short film strategy has been successful in assisting<br />
filmmakers to progress to feature filmmaking and in making a mark<br />
internationally. A recent review of the NZFC‟s short film strategy revealed that of<br />
the 197 filmmakers that made short films through its short film scheme between<br />
1997 and 2007, 89 over one-third have accessed NZFC feature film development<br />
funding and/or been credited as a writer, director or producer on a feature film –<br />
exceeding its original target of 25%.<br />
On the exhibition side, film festivals are generally regarded as the most important<br />
showcase of short films internationally. There are more than a thousand festivals<br />
in the world that showcase short films, but only a handful of these are seen as<br />
having a significant impact on progression to feature films. 90 Of the 73 NZFC<br />
short films completed by June 2007, 50% were invited to A-list festivals, 91 defined<br />
by the organisation‟s marketing team as “major events with prestige and<br />
influence”, as follows:<br />
Annecy International Animation Film Festival<br />
Berlin Film Festival<br />
<strong>BFI</strong> London Film Festival<br />
Cannes Film Festival<br />
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival<br />
Edinburgh International Film Festival<br />
Hiroshima International Animation Film Festival<br />
Melbourne International Film Festival<br />
New York Film Festival<br />
Pusan International Film Festival<br />
Rotterdam International Film Festival<br />
Sundance International Film Festival<br />
Tampere Film Festival<br />
Telluride Film Festival<br />
Valladolid International Film Festival<br />
Venice International Film Festival<br />
89 The review focused only on films made through the NZFC’s own scheme (which is not<br />
aimed at entry level filmmakers) and not on all short films made in New Zealand, nor all publicly<br />
funded shorts.<br />
90 Source: Ian Francis, Short Film Export (November 2008); policy report to the UK Film<br />
Council Film Export Development Team.<br />
91 Source: Ruth Harley et al, Review of NZFC Short Film Strategy (October 2007).<br />
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