HOLLYWOOD (October 22, 2014) – NBCUniversal announced the winners among the finalists at its Ninth Annual NBCU Short Film Festival finale on October 22nd at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Craig Robinson (pictured upper left) with presenters including Miguel Sandoval (NBC’s Bad Judge), Ricky Gonzalez (USA’s Rush), Linda Mendoza (director, NBC’s Bad Judge, NBC’s 30Rock), Keith Powell (NBC’s About A Boy), and Russell Peters (Last Comic Standing).
Established in 2006 and formally known as “NBC Short Cuts”, NBCU Short Film Festival, is a nationwide search for new storytellers — ensuring the talent both in front of and behind the camera better reflects the society we live in. The bicoastal festival hosts a variety of acclaimed panels and workshops, as well as a semi-finalist short film screening in NYC and red carpet finale in Hollywood, showcasing up & coming directors, actors, producers and writers to the top tastemakers, talent agents & executives in the industry.
The 2014 #NBCUshortsFEST Award highlights include:
- A one-year talent holding deal with NBC for BEST ACTOR (pictured center, right), Montserrat Espadalé (Crescendo);
- a $60k Camera Package donation from the Panavision New Filmmaker Program, a meeting with the heads of production for Universal Pictures, and a finalist slot in NBC’s Director Fellowship Program for BEST DIRECTOR (pictured center, left), Alonso Alvarez Barreda (Crescendo);
- an iPad with Zagg rugged folio keyboard case and the latest version of Final Draft plus consideration for the Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Fellowship or Final Round Placement in the NBC Writers On The Verge Program for BEST WRITER, David Lee (Paulie);
- the 2014 CHILLER Award offering $5k and the position as Lead Creative on an original promo for Chiller Network’s 2015 Killer Shorts Campaign for Kheireddine El-Helou (writer/director, Drudge);
- And finally, a Sound Package consisting of Pro Tools 11, an Apogee MiC, Plantronics BackBeat GO2 Wireless Headphones, plus an Avid Media Composer Editing Software Package for BEST SHORT and AUDIENCE AWARD Winners (pictured lower left), Andrew Nackman (director, Paulie), David Haskell & Chris Abernathy (Producers, Paulie).
In addition, all 2014 Festival Winners and Finalists will be announced in The Hollywood Reporter, as well as receiving, Movie Magic Budgeting & Scheduling from Entertainment Partners, Final Draft 9, & specialized workshops with Mike Dallatorre from the Panavsion New Filmmaker Program, Independent Film Financing with Darrien Gipson from SAG-Indie, Branding with Kevin Seldon from Keldof Marketing, and pitching with Karen Horne from NBC’s Talent and Infusion Programs (TIPs). Other festival finalists include Erin Sanger (writer/director, Bombshell), Thomas Fraser (writer/director, Voicemail), Jess dela Merced (writer/director, Hypebeasts), and Stefanie Saintonge (writer/director, Seventh Grade).
Last year marked the launch of the NBCU Short Film Festival Channel on HULU, and adding to even greater exposure is the availability of some Finalist & Semifinalist films through video on demand platforms such as Comcast’s Xfinity, Cablevision, Dish Network, Time Warner and Verizon. “We’re excited to be bringing this fantastic collection of short films to our Xfinity On Demand platforms, both on TV and on devices, and offer customers an opportunity to view some of the amazing work from the industry’s up and comers,” said Keesha Boyd (Executive Director, Multicultural Consumer Services at Comcast Cable).
This year’s partners include Comcast, Universal, NBC, Bravo, Syfy, USA, Telemundo, E!, Esquire, Mun2, Focus, Chiller, Oxygen, Fandango, Hulu, Xfinity, Avid, Panavision, Final Draft, Entertainment Partners, The Hollywood Reporter, Plantronics, Zagg, Outfest, Sundance Institute, Apogee Electronics, Uptown, Keldof Marketing, SAG-Aftra, SAGindie, WGA-west, WGA-east, DGA. For more information and pictures from this year’s festival, visit: facebook.com/NBCUshortsFEST
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