FILMINUTE 2019 captures the global zeitgeist one-minute at a time

BUCURESTI, Romania - Oct. 10, 2019 - PRLog -- Each year, FILMINUTE presents a collection of the world's best ultrashort films, each delivering a complete story in exactly one minute,

18 countries are represented on this year's shortlist of 25 films : Argentina (2), Australia, Canada, France (3), Hungary, India, Iran (2), Iraq, Lesotho, Norway, Spain, Sweden (2), Syria, Thailand, Turkey, UK (4), Uruguay, and USA.

"Regrets, mistakes, responsibility —  these are some of the big themes present in this year's collection," says Filminute co-founder and head of jury, John Ketchum. "With so much sanctioned chaos and instability in the world, these particular themes will indeed strike a chord with audiences and prove, once again, that this unique and accessible film format offers a real and raw reflection of the global zeitgeist."

Filminute co-founder Sabaa Quao pointed out one big shift in international representation at this year's festival. "Submissions from Iran and India surpassed the volume from USA and the UK this year. No country has a monopoly on great stories and Filminute is one arena that levels that playing field and presents the best that we can find to an international audience"

This year the international Filminute jury consists of the award-winning American fiction writer, Maile Meloy; FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Deputy General Secretary and Instanbul-based film critic, Alin Tasciyan; Canadian executive producer and film industry advisor, Indira J Guha; South Korean filmmaker, Nuri Jeong, winner of last year's Best Filminute Award; Filminute Co-Founder, Sabaa Quao;  and Filminute Co-Founder and Head of Jury, John Ketchum.

The "BEST FILMINUTE" prize and 5 Commendations will be awarded by the Filminute jury. The public at large is invited to view, share, comment upon, and rate all 25 films. Everyone is also entitled to a single vote for the film they feel deserves the People's Choice award.

Filminute partner CineCoup returns as sponsor of the CineCoup Award, which each year supports the development of one of the films from the collection. As well, European cinema news leader Cineuropa is back with their annual 5-Minute Challenge, Les Films de Cannes a Bucarest festival returns with their Filminute Trophy, and a number of new initiatives have been developed including with ShortsTV and WeTransfer.

The festival runs from Oct 1-31st. Voting is open until midnight, October 31^st. The FILMINUTE winners & awards will be announced November 7^th

http://www.filminute.com

Press Office

For Further Information, please contact:

Ioana Diaconu    filminute2018@gmail.com (mailto:filminute2019@gmail.com?subject)

John Ketchum    john.ketchum@gmail.com