shnit Shortfilmfestival 04 announces SA competition films, A-list Jury

For the fifth year running, the shnit International Shortfilmfestival comes alive in Cape Town. Featuring the best short films from across the globe, shnit 2014 will once again see the Mother City join Bern, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Cairo, Kyoto, Moscow and San Jose in hosting the world's only truly global film festival.

More than 200 films. 8 cities. 1 weekend of pure film in shnit's 12th global edition from October 8 - 12 in Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

shnit is thrilled to announce acclaimed South African writer, director and producer Gavin Hood as this year's South African jury president. With a resume including A-list films Rendition, X-men Origins: Wolverine and Enders Game, and the Oscar-winning Tsotsi, he will turn his expert eye to shnit's MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA competition category, in proud support of the dynamic and ever-expanding local industry. shnit is honoured to have Mr Hood serve as our jury president.

Under Mr Hood's watch, the films will vie for the approval of a South African jury made up of three of the countrys highest-rated directors, working in different genres and platforms: Jenna Bass's improvised directorial debut, Love The One You Love, premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2014, where it won awards for Best Actress, Best South African Feature and Best Direction In A South African Feature. Jahmil X.T. Qubeka's third feature, Of Good Report, was a source of controversy at the Durban International Film Festival 2013, where the Film and Publications Board of SA banned it, disrupting its premiere and the festival's opening night. The film went on to near clean-sweeps at the SAFTAs and African Movie Academy Awards. Music video and commercials director Terence Neale's street culture infused work has garnered him attention worldwide. His most recent project - a music video for Skrillex's Ragga Bomb, featuring a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, Jhb landscape - has clocked over 26 million YouTube views to date.

shnit 2014 promises one of the most diverse and impressive festival line-ups yet. At its core is the shnit OPEN International Competition, which features 64 short films over 10 screening sessions, selected from 7102 entries and 136 countries. An international jury will award shnit's Flaming Faun trophy and cash awards of $20,000 in five categories. Cape Towns local screening programme again comprises three categories in total, including the out of competition KAAPSE BOBOTIE section and the REALTIME COMPETITION. Its SA screening categories together represent one of the largest yearly selections of South African short films screening anywhere in the world.

shnit 2014 kicks off in style on Wednesday 8 October and screens for five days at The Labia Theatre on Orange St in Cape Town and Pulp Cinema Stellenbosch. As always, The Labia - Cape Town's iconic cinema - will host the core of the festival, earmarking its successful crowd funded campaign to go digital and give viewers an unprecedented new quality of cinematic experience. Sunday 12 October sees shnit sign off for another year with a closing awards ceremony at the Labia, also featuring the premiere of the Real Time competition films.

shnit also hosts previews and fringe screenings in collaboration with Cape Creative Week and the Cape Town Month of Photography (MOP6), as well as the Short & Sweet Cinema Club, Cinemuse and Sound & Motion Studios. shnit is a World Design Capital project, highlighting its aptitude for combining cinema and design in a dynamic setting that stretches beyond the silver screen.

shnit is made possible by the generous support of the National Film and Video Foundation and the Cape Film Commission, as well as our venue, industry, media and service partners. With its steadily growing reputation for the finest short film fare, shnit has made its mark as a festival not to be missed, and established Cape Town as a force to be reckoned with on the global short film scene.

See www.shnit.org for South African competition line up. Full screening schedule will release on shnit.org in late September.

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LINK:	http://www.filmcontact.com/africa/south-africa/shnit-shortfilmfestival...
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