Unitec Short Film Festival kicks off (+video)

A scene from Auckland Big Small City. Photo / Supplied

A new short film festival begins on nzherald.co.nz today.

Featuring films taken from Auckland Unitec's Uni Shorts International Student Film Festival, nzherald.co.nz is proud to host 10 shorts in the weeks leading up until the festival launches on April 21 and 22.

The first of these, Auckland Big Small City, is available to watch via the video player above from today.

Directed by Natcoll Design School's Syahrir Ego Farizy, Auckland Big Small City is a compilation of familiar scenes from around Auckland shot and edited in a way that makes it look like a stop-motion animated video. The soundtrack is The Postal Service's The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.

Four prizes of $1000 are available to winners at the festival, in the categories of best New Zealand film, best actor, best international film and best film overall.

Judges include My Wedding and Other Secrets writer/director Roseanne Liang, Love Story director Florian Habicht and Unitec's Caroline Grose.

Athina Tsoulis, head of Unitec's Performing and Screen Arts Department, said the festival was the perfect way to showcase budding filmmakers' work.

"Given that the quality and sophistication of students has increased tremendously over the years, we wanted to find a way to bring their talents to the attention of a wider audience," Tsoulis said.

"We have been very impressed by the quality and diversity of the film entries, and the level of support from our industry friends and associates has also been very pleasing."

The festival will also include panel and roundtable discussions with well known industry figures like South Pacific Pictures CEO John Barnett, producer Rachel Gardner and Scarfies director Robert Sarkies.

For screening times and more information on the festival, visit the website here.

What: Uni Shorts International Student Film Festival 2012
Where: Unitec's Mt Albert campus
When: April 21-22

- Herald online