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The Fifth Annual Shorts International Film Festival Announces 2001 Winners

Five countries - Seven winners

November 15, 2001, New York, NY - The Fifth Annual Shorts International Film Festival tonight announced winners of this year's shorts in the following seven categories: animation; comedy; documentary; drama; experimental; student; and digital. The winning movies represent five countries and were chosen out of a total of 106 films from 23 countries are:

  1. Animation: Thought Bubble (USA) - By Billy Greene, Thought Bubble is about the lonely exploits of a man living on the streets in a city made of paper;


  2. Comedy: La Mesa Servida/The Table is Set (Mexico) - In a film from director Kenya Marquez, Carlos' stomach is empty and he sets out to dominate nature by obeying it. The two last pigs in town are seductive fare;


  3. Documentary: Why Pay Two Rents (USA) - Remy Weber's documentary is a portrait of Stan Selub and Paul Miller, who have shared a monogamous relationship and an antique jewelry business over the past forty years;


  4. Drama: Meska Sprawa/A Man Thing (Poland) - Slawomir Fabicki's drama is the story of a boy trying to keep his father's beating him a secret;


  5. Experimental: Copy Shop (Austria) - A man who works in a copy shop copies himself until he fills up the entire world, in this short by Virgil Widrich;


  6. Student: Fensterturz/Falling for Art (Germany) - Lancelot Von Naso's film which centers around a young painter's choice between love and the completion of his work, as he struggles to translate an idea of Delacroix's into action;


  7. Digital: No Dumb Questions (USA) - Directed by Melissa Regan, the film is a funny and touching documentary about three sisters, ages 6, 9 and 11, who struggle to understand how and why uncle Bill is becoming a woman.


"We were thrilled with the films in this year's competition," says Lisa Walborsky, Shorts International Film Festival Director. "Attendance was good, especially considering the current situation in New York City. And, through the efforts of our staff, sponsors and volunteers, we were able to bring quality films from talented filmmakers to a New York audience."

Festival winners were chosen by a panel of jurors who included: Lot 47 Films' chief strategy officer, Mark Lipsky; Laura Kirk, star and co-author of the film "Lisa Picard is Famous"; Jesse Cromwell, producer; Jonathon Weisgal, former president and co-founder, Jersey Films; George Dawes Green, author of the "The Juror" and "The Caveman's Valentine"; Lydia Pilcher, producer of films including "Mississippi Masala" and "Jesus' Son"; Debora Solomon, composer, writer and award-winning animator; Kelly Devine, supervisor of films acquisition at Independent Film Channel; Jeb Brody, Head of Development & Production, Magnet Films; Reeves Lehmann, School of Visual Arts, Film Department Chair; Elizabeth Weitzman, film critic, New York Daily News; Susan Seidelman, director of films including: "Desperately Seeking Susan", "She Devil", "Confessions of a Suburban Girl", and "Cookie"; G. Mac Brown, producer, Adrian Lyne's "Unfaithful" (due for release May 2002); Paolo Freccero, Vice President, Sundance Channel; and Hazelle Goodman, who was featured in the film "Deconstructing Harry." Ms. Goodman served as emcee of the event. Winners of each category were awarded $2,000 in cash and a Tourneau® watch. The festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and winners, excluding documentary and digital categories, are eligible for Academy Award® consideration.

For more information, please call 212-907-1288, or email info@shorts.org

Media Contact:
Stephen Foulk
Southard Communications
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stephen@southardinc.com