SMPTE-HPA Student Festival Unveils 2016 Official Selections

SMPTE and HPA have announced the Official Selections for the 2016 SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival. Jurors curated the selected shorts from more than 250 submissions from over 46 countries.

Hosted by SMPTE Director of Engineering and Standards Howard Lukk, the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival will take place on Wednesday 26 October at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The event is being held in conjunction with the SMPTE 2016 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2016).

The Official Selections will be presented in SMPTE Digital Cinema Package (SMPTE-DCP) format, courtesy of Sundog Media Toolkit. Filmmaker information and trailers are available at www.smpte.org/film-festival.

The 2016 SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival Official Selections are:

• Best Creative Use of Entertainment Technology to Engage the Audience in the Story — Animated Short
'Cowboyland' by David Stumpf, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (Slovakia)
'Dance of a Broken Heart' by Andreia Serrano, Central Saint Martins (London, UK)
'Endear' by Suhyun Cho and Nadya Wijaya, School of the Visual Arts (New York, US)
'H2Obby' by Flavia Trevisan, Faculdade Melies de Tecnologia (São Paulo, Brazil)
'The Graveyard Shift' by Lara Arikan, Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, Florida, US)
'I Could Eat a Horse' by Jake Hovell, University of South Wales (Pontypridd, Wales, UK)
'My Mother Only Had One Eye' by Joe Nason, Cork Institute of Technology (Cork, Ireland)
'Player Two' by Zack Antell, Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York, US)
'Return to Sender' by Catherine Bailey, Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, Florida, US)
'Scraps' by Dor Cohen and Marnus Nagel, Media Design School (Auckland, New Zealand)
'Seen Through the Eyes of Children' by Anna Maria Mouradian, Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University (Montréal, Canada)
'Spotlight' by Otalia Causse, Supinfocom Rubika (Valenciennes, France)
'Unmasked' by Christina Faraj and Alice Gavish, School of the Visual Arts (New York, US)

• Best Creative Use of Entertainment Technology to Engage the Audience in the Story — Live-Action Short
'Bug Killer' by Unggyu Choi, School of the Visual Arts (New York, US)
'Departure' by Emily Pietro, Emerson College (Boston, US)
'Look Up' by Shane Murphy, San Francisco State University (San Francisco, US)
'One on One' by Chen Yeger, Sapir College (Gevim, Israel)
'Return' by Ehsan Mollazadeh, Sorreh University (Tehran, Iran)

• Best Use of Mobile Device or Tablet to Convey a Story — Narrative Short
'ISMS' by Jayden Gillespie, Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, California, US)
'Solëdad' by Jon Navarro, Long Island University (Brookville, New York, US)
'XX' by Yagmur Ekim Yilmaz, Çankaya Anatolian High School (Çankaya/Ankara, Turkey)

• Best Use of Virtual Reality in Storytelling — Narrative Short
'At the Game: An RIT Hockey Experience' by Anna Dining, Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, New York, US)
'Experience Rochester' by Anna Dining, Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, New York, US)
'Rhapsody' by CHAN Ming Chun, Hong Kong Design Institute (Tiu Keng Wan, Hong Kong).

"We are thrilled with the entries for this year's festival, and we look forward to showcasing and supporting student filmmakers — including some still in high school — from around the world," said Howard Lukk. "The Official Selections for this year's festival illustrate the rich potential of new entertainment technology as a storytelling tool, especially when in the hands of creative and innovative young filmmakers."

Award winners for each category will be announced and presented at the festival. In addition, the Audience Choice Award will be voted on on-site by attendees and presented at the conclusion of the festival.

Tickets to attend the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival are available with SMPTE 2016 registration packages or separately at www.smpte2016.org.

Admission to the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival is free for students, and a $25 donation is suggested for others.

www.hpaonline.com

www.smpte.org

Image: Howard Lukk with Student Film Festival Best in Show Winners.

(JP/LM)