Literally Short Film Awards
Co-presented with Literal Magazine
Tuesday, November 4, 7PM
Aurora Picture Show partners with Literal Magazine to celebrate their 10th anniversary. As part of the celebration, Literal Magazine hosted a short film competition and, on November 4th, will present the first annual Literally Short Film Awards at 7PM at Aurora Picture Show (2442 Bartlett Street).
Literally Short Film Awards is an event initiated by Literal Magazine's drive to bridge all cultures onto one collaborative stage that stimulates international artistic expression. With the mission to promote innovative approaches to social change through the arts and cultural influences, the magazine's passion for film lies in its exquisite capacity to merge a multitude of arts into one vision; thus, Literally Short Film Awards seeks to dissolve all geographical boundaries into one platform that equally voices all cultures.
Jurors included Luis Duno-Gottberg, Margarita De La Vega Hurtado, and Nick Nicholson. Over 200 submissions were received from 20 different countries including USA, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, Iran, India, China, France, Russian Federation, Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada, Venezuela, United Kindgdom, Spain, Germany, Sweden, and Italy.
In addition to a screening of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place films from the competition, the evening will also include an opening reception with a performance from Ctrl+Alt+Jay band, a margarita machine, Saint Arnold brews and food available for purchase from the Foreign Policy food truck. Prizes will be presented to the winners during the screening event, which starts approximately 8:15PM. Some filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&A, and there will be a guest speaker, Pulitzer Prize winner Nick Anderson (a cartoonist for the Chronicle).
Literal Magazine sponsors include A. Schulman de México S.A. de C.V., Specialty Polymers, XL Multimedia, and Houston Institute for Culture and MicroSearch, in addition to Aurora Picture Show.
The following films will be screened and receive awards:
THIRD PLACE:
Breed (4m, U S A)
dir. by Stanton Cameron
Animation
Parents always have hopes and dreams for their child. But what happens if the child doesn't share those same dreams? Caught between two worlds, the son (a wolf) must decide whether being true to himself is worth the loss of his human father's approval. Suppressing his true nature in front of his father, the wolf stands on two legs and hides the characteristics that make him a wolf. Only until the wolf stands up for himself does the father see his son for what he really is, and both must come to terms with what that means. Breed is a touching depiction a child's struggle for self-identity.
SECOND PLACE:
Nayan and the Evil Eye (7m, Canada)
dir. by Shaleen Sangha
Narrative
A young boy named Nayan finds a mysterious glass eye and discovers that it holds some dangerous powers: the wielder receives the gift of Evil Eye. Now Nayan can curse anyone he sets his eye on.
FIRST PLACE:
One Forest Day (10m, U S A)
dir. by Neil Lokken
Narrative
While trying to escape from human hunters through a vast forest, Udok must overcome his paralyzing fears and stand up to his pursuers.
ABOUT LITERAL MAGAZINE
Literal, Latin American Voices, winner of 2 CELJ Awards and 4 Lone Star Awards, offers its pages with a dual purpose: as a forum where the most important Latin American creative expressions converge and as a vehicle for the expression of new voices. Thus Literal provides a medium for the critique and diffusion of the Latin American literature and art, recognizing its potential strength as a point of departure for understanding that the broad cultural universe is not overshadowed by any single language, but is bathed in the light of a unified spirit. For more information, visit http://www.literalmagazine.com.