The 15th edition of the recently wrapped Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) along with its newly revamped Industry section hosted the first edition of “The Pitch” in collaboration with Shorts TV, the Short Movie Channel.
The 15th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) and its newly revamped Industry section hosted the first edition of “The Pitch” within the framework of its industry events. “The Pitch” is a contest dedicated to young filmmakers from the region of Transylvania in Romania and organized by Shorts TV, the Short Movie Channel. This particular competition already takes place at several festivals across the U.S. and Europe, among which Cannes, Amsterdam and NexT Film Festival. The prize consists of 5000€ and is offered by Shorts TV for making or finishing a short film. But, it comes with a catch: the film must be completed within a year of winning the prize or else the funding will be withdrawn. Moreover, the submitted short film should have a budget of less than 10,000€ and last a maximum of 15 minutes. In addition, Shorts TV will have the right of first refusal on the distribution and dissemination of the short film on a global level and the winning film’s end credits will include “Made in Association with Shorts TV” as well as the channel’s logo. As far as the competition itself is concerned, Shorts TV chose ten finalists who participated in a finale open to the public and made up of two rounds that took place on 1 June 2016 at TIFF. During the first round, each finalist had one minute to present his/her idea to the jury who considered not only the pitch in itself but also the quality of the idea and the filmmaker’s showreel. Out of these ten projects, five went on to the second round during which the competitors elaborated more on their projects and answered the jury’s questions. The jury was made up of Carter Pilcher, the chief executive of Shorts TV and one of this year’s jury members of the Shadow Shorts Competition program of the festival; Massimiliano Nardulli, the artistic director of the Brest European Short Film Festival and Bogdan Mirică, the director of Dogs, the recently critically acclaimed and awarded film at the Cannes Film Festival. The ten selected projects were the following: – Sol by Anda Pușcas*- The Walk by Anna Peter- It’s the End of the World As We Dreamt It by Bianca Stânea and Alex Zlavoj*- Exit by Bogdan Benea*- Disclosure by Ovidiu Murzea and Reres Dinu- Transylvania Spatium by Joszef Laszlo- Viking Candy Wrap by Laszlo Dunai and Joszef Iszlai- Tanato Tourism by Laviniu Lazar, Anca Astilean, Dan Daniel, Alexandriu Pelea and Tudor Turturica- Quince Compote by Lorand Gabor* – Far Away by Mara Trifu* According to the jury all the projects were “really, really good” but the award went to Sol by Anda Pușcas, a Berlinale and Sarajevo Talents alumna. The “runner up” project was Mara Trifu’s Far Away that the Shorts TV’s commissioning team would like to explore further.
Note: The projects bearing a * were those selected for the second round of “The Pitch”.
