Film industry professionals from the Cannes Lions festival (held in Cannes, France) and from Karlsruhe, Nottingham’s German twin city, will be attending the Nottingham International Microfilm Festival, to be held for the second time in October.
The winning films from the branded content and entertainment categories of this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last month will be screened and festival representatives will hold a question and answer session. Markus Kambeck, director of commercial film production company kambeckfilm GmbH in Karlsruhe and an international member of Nottingham Screen Partnership, which is organising the festival, will be speaking about his work and discussing international microfilm business models.
Nottingham International Microfilm Festival will showcase this relatively new sector and will attract leading film and television professionals from Hollywood, Europe and China, where microfilms are already popular. Details of the exciting programme and further participants will be announced on www.nimfestival.com nearer the time. Nottingham Screen Partnership is made up of the City Council, both Nottingham universities and related bodies.
The free festival, from Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 October, will focus, this year, on branded entertainment and include screenings, discussions, presentations, workshops and industry launches. The NSP Student Microfilm Competition for students at selected institutions in Europe, the USA and China will run alongside the festival. Microfilms are online, promotional, short-form content, including creative shorts, music videos, adverts and corporate promotions.
Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said: “We’re very pleased to be welcoming a number of international delegates to our festival, especially Markus from our German twin city, Karlsruhe. The Nottingham International Microfilm Festival will be one of several events in October that we expect to attract visitors from across the globe to our city.”
Markus Kambeck said: “I am thrilled about this year’s programme for the festival. It has a truly international selection of people from the industry and the academic sector alike. I am looking forward to having some of the people who are influencing and forming the future of our industry worldwide in one place. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the latest thoughts, ideas and trends affecting the global filming industry should come and see the curated creative works and take the opportunity to broaden their network.”
Paul Grainge, Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham, said: “Exploring microfilm as branded content couldn’t be more timely. As a site of creative practice, microfilm brings into focus key discussions about the relation of film, video and digital shorts to changes in the contemporary media and promotional environment, and the festival will harness these with contributions from leading practitioners in the field.”
Nottingham will become the UK’s Festival City for the second time, this October, with more than 20 festivals and major events, including the Mayhem Film Festival, the Hockley Hustle and Robin Hood Week.