EUROPEAN Union (EU) Film Festival co-curator-turned-co-ordinator Alex Gwaze has announced the call for entries to the EU Bioskop Short Film Competition.
The deadline for the submissions of the entries is July 20.
Gwaze told NewsDay Life & Style that this year’s winning films will get US$400 prize money including screenings at this year’s prestigious European International Film Festival.
Entries to the competition are done through the European Union Film Festival link https://filmfreeway.com/TheEuropeanFilmFestivalZimbabwe.
This year’s EU Bioskop Short Film Competition is running under the theme Staying Connected and comes bigger and better as the European Film Festival Zimbabwe introduced a new category for Best Actors and Actresses awards.
Gwaze emphasised that the competition is open to both established and up-and-coming Zimbabwean artists.
“The theme Staying Connected could be interpreted in many ways like family connections, mobile phones and/or through the internet and or being global. But it is about moving out of post-COVID-19 isolation as well.
“Last year’s Bioskop recieved 55 entries, showing that we have a healthy community of filmmakers eager to exhibit their work. Some of the entries are from Zimbabweans in the diaspora. Having their films helps us stay connected wherever we might be in the world. Also, it most importantly helps our competition maintain its international standards,” Gwaze said.
- Gwaze urges filmmakers to learn everything film
- Staying Connected theme for EU BIOSKOP film competition
Keep Reading
“The awards categories for year 2024 are Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Sound Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Diaspora Film and the new Best Actor or Actress category.
“We are particularly excited about the new Best Actor and Actress category and award. With so many Zimbabwean actors making headlines this category will showcase our talent to the world.
“The European Union Bioskop Competition is not an ordinary film competition. We aim to reward the different stages of the film process to ensure we adhere to the technical standards out there. We aim to build a community of Bioskop film alumni.”
Gwaze added: “This is also why one of our judges is Prosper Kunyetu, who gained prominence by winning our awards for several years in a row. Also joining Prosper is Daniel Lasker, who just joined the cast of Netflix One Piece, as well as Sibongile Mlambo, who was on Netflix.”
Last year, the European Film Festival in Zimbabwe took place at the Mbare Art Space in Harare.
The European Union 2023 Bioskop Competition ran under the theme Crossing Borders.
This competition was open to all genres of film and the winning categories were Best Narrative, Cinematography, Sound, Diaspora and Documentary.
The Best Cinematography award for the year 2033 was taken by Kalai Faye Barlow for her film Mann Friday (Fight for Me), followed by Xolani Mkwananzi and Clinton Zvoushe, who took the Best Narrative Short award for his film My Name is My Name.
Takunda Aaron Chimutashu’s Create Zimbabwe: Art Across Cities bagged the Best Documentary Short accolade, while the Best Sound Edited movie was Daughter of the Soil, which was directed by Derrick Manieca.
Film directors Admire Zimbeva and Bonginkosi Khumalo shared the glory of the Best Diaspora award through the film Enigma Gems.
