Capital FX Awards

Capital FX awarded the five winners of its CFX Short Film Awards their 35mm prints.

The winning films were:

- Attack directed by Timothy Smith
- Pitch Perfect directed by J Blakeson
- Rabbit directed by Run Wrake
- Screen Kiss directed by Steven Sander
- The Little Thief directed by Adam Sharp.

There is no doubt that currently demand is not great enough for cinemas to gravitate towards showing short films without there being some outside encouragement. The CFX Short Film Award hopes to be part of this drive and looks forward to developing this with UK filmmakers.

The Winning Films and Filmmakers

Attack
Timothy Smith - Director

Synopsis:
Steve, the leader of a local gang apprehends a neo-Nazi skinhead because he has attacked two of his black teenage friends in a nearby alley. The police arrive and take statements from Steve and the two teenage boys. Malcolm, the skinhead, lies unconscious. As we're taken back through the story we realise that perhaps the boys aren't telling the whole truth and things may not be as black and white as they first appear.

Timothy's biography:
Timothy was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1972. Between 1994 and 1997 he studied film production and animation in Melbourne. Then from 1997 to 1998 he worked in the film industry in Sydney before relocating to London in 2002. Here he completed a Masters degree in Media at Westminster University. Timothy currently works as a freelance writer, director and camera operator.

Pitch Perfect
J Blakeson - Director

Synopsis:
Bob and Ellis are screenwriters with integrity, talent and the willingness to do absolutely anything to sell their movie. Over four frustrating meetings with film executives, they desperately rethink their pitch, ready to go to any lengths to make that elusive sale. But how far is too far?

J's biography:
Based on writer/director J Blakeson's real life experiences pitching feature ideas to executives, 'Pitch Perfect' was shot on DVcam and HD. The film was self funded by J and producer Sacha Guttenstein through production and then won Film Council completion funding. It premiered at the 2005 Edinburgh International Film Festival and has gone on to play at Brief Encounters Short Film Festival in Athens, and Ohio Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Short Film at the 2005 British Independent Film Awards.

Rabbit
Run Wrake - Director

Synopsis:
A selection of 1950s educational stickers, found in a provincial junkshop twenty years ago provide the ingredients for this adult fairytale. Once they were new, delivering a simple message to the young. Like us, however, they have grown older and now present a more complex meaning. The dark shade and casual violence of the story clash with the childhood connotations of the artwork to create an atmosphere of lost innocence, and tell a tale of greed and the random justice of nature.

Run's biography:
Since graduating from RCA in 1990 Run has worked as a freelance animation director and illustrator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects include short film, promos, television graphics, commercials, live visuals and illustration. Career highlights include working on a series of freeform promos, presenting storyboards to Roy Lichtenstein in his New York studio for U2's Popmart tour visuals and 'Rabbit'.

Screen Kiss
Steven Sander - Director

Synopsis:
In a mock documentary style, Screen Kiss explores the duplicity of two actors and their director. The actors kiss on screen but away from the camera they secretly hate each other.

Steven's biography:
Steve graduated with a History degree from Cambridge University in 1999. He started in the film industry as a runner at Union Commercials, Union Pictures and Natural Nylon in London. Since then he's gained a reputation as a TV commercials director with Quiet Storm Films, working for clients such as BT, Nokia, News International and BMW Mini Cooper. He is currently working on a short film and documentary project.

The Little Thief
Adam Sharp - Director

Synopsis:
After stealing a toy plane from a shop the little thief runs off to play with his prize in the woods, but the sun is setting and darkness soon comes. Unwittingly he is led to the grounds of a deserted mansion, where toys hang from the trees like overripe fruit.

Adams's biography:
A flair for the macabre and a strong artistic talent, singled Adam out as unusual from an early age. Adam Graduated in 1997 with a degree in Animation, and quickly found work as a freelance animator and illustrator. Initially working with more traditional forms of hand drawn animation Adam later began to use computers as his main tool. He has worked on numerous productions including pilots, children's series, idents for Channel 4, and TV ads, as well as the recent Gorillaz 'Feel Good Inc.' music video. Adam is now co-director of Itchy Pictures, a rapidly growing animation and VFX studio.