Show Me Shorts Film Festival will screen 85 short films, including 26 local films, in cinemas across Aotearoa, New Zealand this October, curated from a huge 2,400 submissions.
Show Me Shorts is the premier short film festival in the Asia Pacific region, and this will be the 19thedition. The festival is Oscar-accredited and BAFTA-qualifying, providing a pathway to international awards glory for filmmakers. A massive 126 screenings will take place at 40 venues across Aotearoa.
Highlight films include My Week With Maisy featuring Joanna Lumley; Māori Time featuring Manu Bennet; Payback by acclaimed Kiwi actor Mia Blake; and Morning Hate the directorial debut of New Zealand actor Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit, Shortland Street) with a powerful story set in the trenches of WWI.
Eight world premieres, both local and international, will be celebrated during the festival: Pack Rat, New Followers, Morning Hate, Cold Feet, My Dying Place, The Journey of Cooking, Trapped (Mexico), and Rock Paper Scissors (United Kingdom).
There are eleven themed collections of films, up to eight shorts and a run-time around the same as a feature film. The themes include a science fiction section – Dystopian Dreams, a section for fans of horror and gore called Slashers and Splatters and the ever-popular Whānau Friendly collection for children and their families to enjoy together.
Full list of themed sections of the programme:
1. The Sampler
2. Whānau Friendly
3. Aotearoa – Ka Awatea
4. German Focus
5. Dystopian Dreams
6. Deeper into Love
7. Generational Threads
8. Finding Your True North
9. Slashers and Splatters
10. Lives in the Firing Line
11. Defy Expectations
Germany is the country of focus this year, presented in partnership with the Goethe-Institut of New Zealand. There are two collections with a total of 12 German shorts screening. German guests attending the festival include director Hans Jakob Harms, who will present his science fiction short film S/N:05 on opening nights in Auckland and Wellington. A programmer from Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg – Anna Feistel – will speak at events and sit on the Show Me Shorts national awards jury. Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck of shorts/salon will present a playful event she has created called Hallo Stranger. The event includes a screening of German shorts about communication and encompasses the opportunity to write postcards to friends or strangers.
SHOW ME SHORTS 2024
10-24 October 2024