EFA & OSCAR® PARTNERSHIP, & NOMINATED SHORTS SEASON

ENCOUNTERS: NOW THE LEADING UK GATEWAY FOR SHORT FILMAWARDS

Friday 18 March 2011: Encounters Bristol International Film Festival is delighted to announce that it has joined the European Film Academy Short Film Initiative. The festival is now a member of the elite circle of 15 European festivals that present the nominations for the European Film Academy Short Film Awards.

This is the second awards collaboration to be developed with the festival in the past six months. Last December saw Encounters become a qualifying festival in the Short Film Category of the Academy Awards®.

The EFA andOscar® partnership now renders Encounters International Film Festival asthe leading UK gateway for emerging talent, to the world's four most prestigious short film and animation awards, including the BAFTA's and Cartoon D'Or.

As an EFA partner festival, the Encounters International Jury will annually select a short filmby a European filmmaker from the Brief Encounters competitive programme, to represent the Bristol Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards. The nomination will be presented at the awards ceremony held annually on the Saturday night of the festival.

It is with great pleasure that Encounters can announce the Bristol Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards 2011 will go to 2010 Encounters Grand Prix winner, DERBY (Romania 2010, 15min., Fiction) directed by Paul Negoescu. This will be the Romanian Filmmakers second nomination, the first hereceived in 2009 for his short film RENOVARE.

As a result of winning the Brief Encounters Grand Prix Award, DERBY is also eligible for an Oscar Short Film nomination, which is accompanied in eligibility by the Animated Encounters Grand Prix winner DER KLEIN UND DASBIEST (THE LITTLE BOY AND THE BEAST) by German Animator Johannes Weiland.

Of the EFA nomination Paul Negoescu said; 'Ireally have no words to describe the feeling of being nominated for the second time at EFA. I am probably one of the luckiest people on the planet. This nomination truly honours me.'

The winner will be announced at the European Film Awards on Saturday 3 December 2011, in Berlin.

The development of both the EFA and Oscar® partnership supports the festivals ambition to promote short film as a means to develop and progress the next generation of creative talent. An example of this can be seen in Polish Filmmaker, Kasia Klimkiewicz, who won the 2010 EFA Short Film award for her exceptional short film HANOI – WARSAW. Whilst visiting the festival in 2009 to screen HANOI – WARSAW, Kasia washead-hunted by Bristolbased producer, Alison Sterling, who was currently searching for collaborativeopportunities with new talent. Through this encounter, the pair has since succeededin gaining a Feature Film Commission via South West Screen's Feature Film Initiative, iFeatures, which is to commence production in May 2011.

Liz Harkman, Managing Director of Encounters Festivals said: 'We are delighted that the festival now presents the UK nomination for the European Film Academy Short Film awards. Together the EFA and Oscar® partnership re-establish Encounters as a leading platform to showcase and celebrate the outstanding achievements of creative newcomers. It is important to remember however, that for both industry and talent, the festival acts not only as a gateway to the awards, but also as a chance to meet new people, benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges, and as we have seen in the likes of Kasia, develop new successful collaborations.'

'God of Love' director Luke Matheny (left)

To celebrate the festivals recent achievement of qualifying for some of the world's most prestigious awards, Encounters International Film Festival is hosting a Nominated Shorts Season from April – June at Watershed Media Centre, Bristol UK. In partnership with Shorts International, BAFTA and the European Film Academy,the festival will screen the 2010/2011 nominated short films from Oscars® (Live-Action and Animation), BAFTAs (Live-Action and Animation) and European Film Awards (Shorts Matters!1, 2, 3).

NOMINATED SHORTS SEASON DATES:

Sunday 3 April, 4pm, Watershed– Oscar® 2011 Live-Action (102 mins) Introduced by Chris Tidman, Shorts International, Co-Head of Global Acquisitions

Sunday 17 April, 4pm, Watershed– Oscar® 2011 Animation (71 mins) Introduced by Chris Tidman, Shorts International, Co-Head of Global Acquisitions

Sunday 1 May 16:00 Watershed– Nominated Live Action Shorts from the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2011

Tuesday 3 May 19:00 – Nominated Live Animated Shorts from the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2011 (Hen and Chicken Pub, Bristol, as part of Show Me the Animation)

Sunday 15 May, 4pm, Watershed– EFA 2010 Shorts Matters! 1

Sunday 29 May, 4pm, Watershed– EFA 2010 Shorts Matters! 2

Sunday 12 June, 4pm, Watershed– EFA 2010 Shorts Matters! 3

EDITOR'S NOTES

Encounters Bristol International Film Festival

Encounters Bristol International Film Festival is theumbrella festival for Animated Encounters and Brief Encounters which together presents one of the world's best-known showcases and meeting points for new and established international short and animated film talent. The longest running competitive short film and animation festival in the UK, and one of Bristol's leading cultural events, Encounters seeks to promote the importance of short film as a means to develop and progress the next generation of creative talent. The 2011 festival will be held in Bristol, UK, between 16– 20 November.

The festival is funded by Bristol City Council and South West Screen. Encounters Festivals Ltd operates as an independent company and is a registered charity.

For more details log on to: www.encounters-festival.org.uk

European Film Academy

Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy now unites more than 2,300 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting Europe's film culture. Ever sincethe European Film Academy (EFA) was founded it has been its intention not only to honour the outstanding achievements of established filmmakers, but also to support and promote talented newcomers. This is why, in 1998, EFA established the presentation of the European Short Film Award as part of the annual European Film Awards. The 2011 European Film Awards willbe held on Saturday 3 December, in Berlin.

For more details visit: www.europeanfilmawards.eu

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For further information / images / interviews contact:
Festival Office: +44 (0) 117 929 9188
Mireia O'Prey, Festival Coordinator:mireia.oprey@encounters-festival.org.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Encounters-Short-Film-Festival/16162795635
Twitter: twitter.com/encountersSFF