Cinema Extreme Open for Submissions

Cinema Extreme, the UK Film Council New Cinema Fund / Film Four backed high budget short film award  is open for entries. Managed by the Bureau and Lifesize pictures, a number of awards of up to £50,000 will be made. Past awardees include Andrea Arnold's Wasp, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Short and Duane Hopkins' Love me or Leave me Alone and the Blaine Brothers' Hallo Panda (pictured).

Applications will be accepted until Setpember 8th. 

the UK Film Council Press Release in full:

Award-winning film production programme, Cinema Extreme, funded by
the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund and FilmFour opens the
bidding to fund new short films
 
LONDON – Monday 24 July 2006.  Tomorrow’s award-winning British filmmakers are being called to submit their short film projects for funding through the highly successful Cinema Extreme short film initiative supported by FilmFour and the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund.
 
The new funding round for Cinema Extreme is now open with a deadline of 8 September for new projects to be submitted. Up to £50,000 is awarded to those projects finally selected.
 
Cinema Extreme, which is managed by production company The Bureau and Lifesize Pictures, is calling for filmmakers with a distinctive directorial voice and cinematic flair.
 
Nine films have been made during the first two years of the programme and have achieved outstanding international success.  Andrea Arnold’s Wasp won the American Academy’s Oscar® for Best Short whilst Duane Hopkins’ Love Me or Leave Me Alone was named Best Short at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and at the European Film Awards.  
 
Kate Ogborn, Executive Producer for The Bureau says: “With Cinema Extreme we are looking to give filmmakers the opportunity to make their short films, the backing to develop their talent as future feature filmmakers, and ultimately exposure to the industry. We have seen Andrea Arnold, director of Wasp, go on to win the Prix du Jury award at Cannes this year with her first feature Red Road and Duane Hopkins is now making his first feature film, Better Things."
 
Matthieu de Braconier, Development Executive for The Bureau adds:  "Between now and 8 September we're looking forward to receiving many exciting applications, we would like to see more filmmakers from across the UK take up this opportunity.”
 
Jo McClellan, Executive Producer for FilmFour says: "Oscar -winning short film, Six Shooter clearly shows that by supporting talented film-makers we can deliver innovative, smart and exciting films. Cinema Extreme provides the opportunity for the most exciting film-makers of tomorrow to develop their vision and make their short film which can springboard them toward their first feature.”
 
Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Executive Producer for Lifesize/New Cinema Fund says: “Cinema Extreme provides a unique opportunity for new talent to spend time with the people who will ultimately commission their projects. The development workshops give the space to explore ideas and often it’s the first chance that writers, directors and producers who are experienced in shorts can get their teeth into longer form work whilst also experimenting with different formats. The films also premiere at a major international film festival, giving the filmmakers the best possible platform for the next step in their careers, making features.”
 
Once the selection process is completed, the commissioned projects move into Cinema Extreme’s development workshop programme: to date 50-60 directors and up to 100 individuals have benefited from this valuable part of the process.  Production then takes place next spring and the finished films are finally premiered next autumn.   The five new films that were awarded funding earlier this year and whose filmmakers are currently being interviewed throughout July on the BBC Film Network website are:
 
Honeymoon, written and directed by Miranda Bowen; Soft, written and directed by Simon Ellis; Hallo Panda, written and directed by Chris and Ben Blaine; Dog’s Mercury, written and directed by Martin Radich and After the Rain, directed and co-written by Gaelle Denis in collaboration with Sibel Armutcu.
 
Diversity is a priority for Cinema Extreme projects and can be addressed in a number of ways, eg through sourcing a diverse range of filmmaking talent and mentors; providing new opportunities for groups currently under-represented in the UK film industry; encouraging filmmakers to explore social issues of disability, cultural/ethnic diversity and social exclusion; creating routes into the UK film industry for identified filmmaking talent; and encouraging established filmmaking talent to invest their expertise in tomorrow’s talent.
 
Fuller details on submitting an application for Cinema Extreme please see
www.thebureau.co.uk/schevents/index.html