For the 8th Annual PlanetOut Short Movie Awards 2007 generously sponsored by Scion, the quality of shorts was phenomenal as you can judge for yourselves. Join us
in congratulating the following filmmakers: Directors Jen Heck (Airplanes), Nicola Marsh (last exit), Abbe Robinson (Private Life), Damien Rea (Scarred) Marc Saltarelli
(Where We Began), and Scriptwriter Tom O’Leary (Where We Began) whose films collectively underline the fact that relationships are never easy, and sometimes you
have to work on them or decide to walk away.
4th RUNNER UP ($500)
Where We Began, Dir. Marc Saltarelli/Scriptwriter Tom O’Leary, U.S. 2006, video, 14 min. U.S. PREMIERE. Bittersweet memories resurface when two ex-lovers, Timothy and Christian, come together in the place they first met.
3rd RUNNER UP ($750)
Last exit, Dir. Nicola Marsh, U.S. 2006, video, 12 min. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. The past and the present gets muddied when Cody travels with her girlfriend to her conservative hometown to visit her best friend Heather and her husband.
2nd RUNNER UP ($1,000)
Scarred, Dir. Damien Rea, Ukraine/United Kingdom, 2006, 35mm, 10 min. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. In this beautifully told mysterious tale, Rafi’s physiognomy betrays his past, drives his destiny and conclusively influences the dynamics of his new relationship.
1st RUNNER UP ($1,500)
Airplanes, Dir. Jen Heck, U.S. 2006, video, 10 min. FLORIDA PREMIERE. Two teenage girls secretly hook up at a traveling carnival fair. Though their attraction takes flight, the tryst is slight, bound by time constraints on earth.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER ($10,000)
Private Life, Dir. Abbe Robinson, United Kingdom, 2006, video, 16 min. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. A talent to watch, Abbe Robinson (The Piper – MGLFF2006) returns with an astonishing period piece set in 1952, Yorkshire, England. Ruth leads a humdrum life doling out wages in a textile mill. A secret train ride and rendezvous with a man reveals that nothing is quite what it seems and this lass is not as prim as she presents.
Total running time: 62 min
Films not eligible for HBO Audience Favorite Short Award.
Jury
The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is delighted to present, for the sixth consecutive year, the 8th Annual PlanetOut Short Movie Awards in association with PlanetOut Inc and our returning sponsor Scion. The five winning films – four runner up prizes and one Grand Prize Winning short were judged by esteemed industry professionals in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco and formally announced at PlanetOut’s annual event during the prestigious 2007Sundance Film Festival – see the following page. Thank you to all the filmmakers who submitted their films for this year’s competition.
Carol Coombes (Miami) Festival Director of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Prior to 2001 she worked for five years on the British Film Institute’s two major film events, the London and London Lesbian & Gay Film Festivals. She holds a degree from Goldsmiths College/University of London in Media Studies, Film Practice and Anthropology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Camera/Lighting for Film & Television.
Joseph LaPolla (New York) is the Vice-President of Programming for Oxygen in New York. Founded in 1998 and currently available in 69 million homes, Oxygen is the premiere television outlet for young women. Joseph LaPolla has been one of the executives responsible for Oxygen’s current line-up including The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty, Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance, Campus Ladies, and Romancing the Bride. The 2006/2007 slate includes The Bad Girls Club from Bunim-Murray (The Real World, The Simple Life), Tease with Lisa Rinna, Robert Verdi, and Coby Archa (Survivor), and the fabulous second season of Janice Dickinson. Before joining Oxygen, he was Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions for Voom HD Cinema 10 which included Divine HD the first all HD network devoted to gay & lesbian programming. Prior to this, LaPolla was Director of Programming at The Discovery Channel and Vice President of Scheduling and Acquisitions at The History Channel and A&E for thirteen years. LaPolla resides in New York.
Michael Musto (New York) is the author of the popular, long running Village Voice entertainment column, La Dolce Musto. Musto just came out with his first collection of columns, also called La Dolce Musto, published by Carroll & Graf
Carmelo Pirrone (New York) Sony Pictures Classics Senior Vice President of Marketing, Carmelo Pirrone, began at Sony Pictures Classics as an intern in 1993, while he was still a student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts studying film and television. In rising through the ranks, Carmelo has had his hand in the marketing and publicity campaigns such as Capote, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Beautiful Thing, Ma vie en rose, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Waiting for Guffman, and many Pedro Almodovar films including All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education and Volver.
Jenny Stewart (San Francisco). Named in 2005 as one of "10 Amazing Gay
Women in Showbiz" by POWER UP, Jenny Stewart has managed all areas of
PlanetOut.com and Gay.com's enormously popular Entertainment channels
since 2003. An industry insider, Stewart has interviewed numerous
celebrities, including Laura Linney, John Waters, Macaulay Culkin, Yoko
Ono and numerous others. For the third year running, Stewart attended
Sundance to produce in-depth features about the queer independent film
scene. Besides covering the television and film worlds, Stewart has
masterminded RockOut: the first music channel to spotlight emerging gay
and lesbian musicians. Before joining PlanetOut, Stewart was the senior
entertainment producer for Queery.com, where she created many successful
features, including the daily TV Gay Guide now featured on Gay.com and
PlanetOut.com.
Kathy Wolfe (San Jose) Pioneer in Lesbian and Gay visibility and founder of Wolfe Video and Wolfe Releasing. Prior experience includes a Master's Degree in Art, Co-Founder of Arrow Graphics (a national advertising company with 13 offices in 5 states) and 14 years of video production. Wolfe was also a recipient of the "Excellence in Media" Award from the National Organization for Women.
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