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Short & Sharp Pitching Competition

Open Channel Announces 2007 Short & Sharp Winner!

Seven filmmakers pitched their human rights story at Open Channel's Short & Sharp Pitching Competition presented by Cinema Nova in association with the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (HRAFF), on Wednesday 22 August 2007. The filmmakers competed for a $5,000 equipment and facilities access prize, and mentoring from Open Channel in the form of production advice to assist with the making of their film within a rigorous three-month timeframe, for screening at the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival, Nov 27 - Dec 02.

The winning filmmaker, selected by a panel of industry professionals, was Inside, Off Sight by Indonesian-born actor, writer and director Arsisto Ambyo.

As outlined by Arsisto in his submission,"Inside, Off Sight challenges Melbourne's reputation as the world's multicultural capital, and looks at how many immigrants from Indonesia have been pushed away from fulfilling their potential to contribute. Inside, Off Sight is an attempt to engage with the subtleties of human rights within the everyday lives of Indonesian immigrants in the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne, as seen through the eyes of characters such as a Balinese painter, and a West Javanese labourer who is adept in many forms of West Javanese traditional music.

"The film will explore new ways of filmmaking, inspired mainly by Jean Rouch and the cinema verite movement. The story will be based on a collaborative writing process involving the Indonesian immigrants and young Indonesians and Australians. The young Indonesians and Australians will produce and act out the stories of the immigrants through an interweaving of interviews, animation, and the more 'traditional' forms of fictional filmmaking. In the process of writing and filming, the work will provide both generations the opportunity to share their stories. Thus, it is also an attempt to take film and storytelling back to its most basic functions, that of community cohesion, identification, and empowerment."

Short & Sharp judge Sue Maslin notes that the project "promises to be an exciting, cinematic and richly textured insight into the experience of Indonesian immigrants in Melbourne. [The judges] were inspired by Arsisto Ambyo's vision, energy, humour and desire to ask difficult questions. We have no doubt that his highly original approach will make a film that audiences will want to see and for this reason, we were pleased to be able to announce him as Winner of the 2007 Short and Sharp Pitching Competition."

According to judge Alkinos Tsilimidos, "If the film can exude the same energy, vision and passion as the pitch, then Ambyo might just be a major directing talent. "

Joining Sue Maslin and Alkinos Tsilimidos on the judging panel were AFC's Claire Jager, HRAFF's Al Cossar, and Open Channel's Executive Producer Gai Dunlop.

This year, Open Channel was proud to partner with the inaugural Human Rights Arts & Film Festival. The stories presented were moving and thought-provoking, demonstrating that human rights issues are preoccupying our filmmakers. In another first for Short & Sharp, the judges gave an Encouragement Award to The Barbers of Baghdad by Fouad Hady. Sue Maslin describes this project as "a timely documentary which helps us to understand the incomprehensible danger faced by ordinary citizens of Baghdad on a daily basis - in this case, barbers who can be killed for cutting hair in ways which depart from the strict Shariah codes. Recurring attacks on such humble shops in which people socialise has the intended effect of spreading extreme fear throughout the community. It was clear to us that filmmaker Fouad Hady, himself a barber, had assembled hours of compelling footage revealing a story that must be told and deserves full encouragement."

Alkinos Tsilimidos describes Fouad Hady as a "director that's prepared to tell the tough stories and from a place of absolute authenticity".

Open Channel is privileged to have given this profoundly courageous filmmaker the opportunity to present his work. Since the Short & Sharp event last Wednesday, Hady has received overwhelming industry support to help him bring his powerful story to our screens.

Open Channel's Short & Sharp is, to the best of our knowledge, Victoria's original pitching competition. It provides an invaluable opportunity for entry and mid-career filmmakers to hone their pitching skills, and as demonstrated by the winning pitches, a chance to discover hidden filmmaking talent. Open Channel looks forward to presenting Short & Sharp again in 2008, in association with the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival.

2007 Short & Sharp Winner - Arsisto Ambyo INSIDE, OFF SIGHT

Encouragement Award Recipient - Fouad Hady THE BARBERS OF BAGHDAD