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An ABFF Short Film Formula For Success
By Fatima Foster
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Courtesy HBO
HBO Short Film Finalists for the
Acapulco Black Film Festival 2001
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Aspiring filmmakers know that competitions,
contests and festivals are important means to showcase their movies. But do you have to
know somebody to get that exposure? MOSAEC caught up with people in the know to bring you
a look behind HBO’s Short Film Competition.
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In 1998, HBO created the Short Film Award to recognize the
talents of young black filmmakers. Five filmmakers get the opportunity to display their
work at the Acapulco Black Film Festival where a panel of industry heavyweights selects a
winner, who's awarded a $20,000 grand prize. "A lot of really great minority
filmmakers aren’t in the mainstream making feature length films. The shorts arena is
where you can find the up and coming talent," said Bernadette Aulestia, director of
target marketing at HBO.
Selecting the Finalists
Walk down the halls of HBO any night after the entry deadline and you'll find two
employees screening short films until the wee hours. This year HBO received over 120
submissions. The initial screeners view each film entirely and evaluate and grade films
based on originality, script, direction, acting, and production value. These screeners
choose 30 of the best films submitted and forward their recommendations to a selection
committee.
Various HBO executives from marketing, acquisitions, scheduling and production, plus an
executive from Film Life Inc. (the presenters of ABFF), make-up the judges on this
committee. Unlike the first round of screeners, this group enforces the 5-minute rule - if
they're not engaged, they move on. “When looking to select five from a large pool of
entries the criteria is often not standard across the board because you have to
accommodate for differences, style, budget and [a] number of other things,” said
Aulestia. “Looking at this year’s finalists, they are all very different, but,
in all the judge’s minds, [they] have something outstanding about them.”
Advice From the Pros
* Get the audience’s attention in the first few minutes with an engaging incident.
* Keep it simple. Don’t try to tackle a subject that is really meant for a feature
film.
* Rehearse your actor to get the best performance from them.
* Don’t skimp on production value. “You can apply Robert Rodriguez’s
theory, if don’t have the money think about what you can do with the money you
have,” said one screener.
* Put your best foot forward. If you don’t think it’s great don’t send it
out.
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Life After The Competition
In reflecting on his experiences, David Sutherland, who’s short My
Father's Hands won 2000’s grand prize, remarked that, “to have an entrée into HBO is
really a beneficial thing and to meet other filmmakers like Robert Townsend, Bill Duke and
Melvin Van Peebles, our heroes, part of the reason why we are in filmmaking itself, it's
hilarious to be able to get that chance,” said Sutherland.
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And the Winner is . . .
Courtesy HBO
Joy Phillips for
Kickin Chicken
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Sutherland has teamed up again with his producer Jennifer Holness to work on a feature
romantic/comedy called Eating the Bones and they're also working on a documentary that
they plan to discuss with HBO, of course. “It’s all up to us now, said
Sutherland. “The quality of our ideas and the determination to get them seen by
people who can make a decision.”
See you don’t have to know somebody, just make movies. See you in Acapulco.
M
June 2001
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