files/pictures/picture-35.jpgThe Visual Effects Society has issued a last call for entries for the eDward, the 6th eDIT Film Award. The event is an international newcomer competition, intended to give young filmmakers a stage for their talent and to open up career opportunities. The competition is worldwide and is open to young creatives under 30. The theme for eDward VI is Artificial Humans. Entries should be not longer than 30 seconds and must be submitted by Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005.
From Frankenstein to Robocop, from the Golem to the Blade Runner replicants – the stories of man-made beings have always had a strange fascination. Artificial humans have been a recurrent theme in the history of the movies, and in the digital age filmmakers can now create artificial beings themselves. Computer-animated figures have meanwhile become so realistic that they can hardly be distinguished from real people. But digital characters are also playing an increasing role outside of the cinema. They advertise products, they appear in computer games, and in some countries they are even pop stars with large followings.
Questions for the up-and-coming filmmakers: what is artificial, what is natural? Where will this development lead? Is an artificial human an individual? And how does a digital figure in a film become credible? We are looking for films trying to answer these questions. They can feature animated figures or digital characters, but this is not a necessity.
The winner receives 2,500 euros and the unique eDward figurine. Apart from the cash awards there are many other prizes to be won, including the Adobe Video Collection 2.5, the Avid Xpress Pro HD Software and a workshop at the SAE Institute on Digital Film and Animation. The winners will be invited to the 8th eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival 2005 (Oct. 9-11, 2005) in Frankfurt, where the awards ceremony will take place. Members of the international jury include Bill Plympton (animator and animation filmmaker, U.S.), Yohei Taneda (production designer, Japan), and ThorbjØrn Christoffersen (animator and director, Denmark), joined by Academy Award winner Chris Landreth (animator and director, Canada).
eDward is organized by the 8th eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival, which is a project of the Hessian Ministry of Higher Education and the Arts, the regional initiative hessen-media, the Hessian Institute of Private-sector Broadcasting (LPR) and the city of Frankfurt am Main. The patron of the 8th eDIT Filmmaker’s Festival is the Hessian minister for higher education and the arts, Udo Corts. Further information and entry forms can be found at
www.eD-ward.de and
www.edit-ves.com .
