The winners of the 2011 Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge come from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The prominent jury chose their favorites amongst more than 40 short-films on the topic of “compassion”. Christopher Watson-Wood, Gianni Manno, Malte Ollroge and Christoph Hars received the most scores. The awards took place in Cannes yesterday evening.
The winners and their films:
Firefly Gold
The award for the best film of the 2011 Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge goes to “Motherless Child” by Christopher Watson-Wood from the UK. The short-film deplores man’s effect on nature, or more specifically wildlife. It is primarily based on archive material from Framepool, in particular animal shots against blue screen. Those are composed into urban life scenarios. Christopher Watson-Wood started his career as a visual effects artist and worked on several major films, including the Academy-Award nominated ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ directed by Terry Gilliam.
“In the past I had toyed with the idea of doing a film that combined elements of live action and library footage. So, when I heard about the Framepool Challenge, and saw the wide range of material that Framepool has in its library, I didn’t have excuse not to do it”, said the Firefly Gold winner yesterday in Cannes. Besides the trophy he received a gift coupon for postproduction services worth 10.000 Euros, donated by the sponsors of the short-film competition, the postproduction companies ACHT and UNCLE.
Firefly Silver
Gianni Manno was awarded second place. The French filmmaker also comes from the visual effects industry and loves to experiment with images and technology. In his short-film “What Could I Do?” he places colored visions into footage of impoverished living conditions – and indicates that helping others is not a question of realizing superficial dreamlands but to ease peoples’ lives with essential little things. During the award show yesterday evening, the Firefly Silver winner received a gift coupon for postproduction services worth 4.000 Euros.
Firefly Bronze
„Homeless” by Malte Ollroge and Christoph Hars was also one of the jury’s top three films. The German directors enhanced their own shots with footage to explain the background of their protagonists. “The footage enabled us to tell a comprehensive story in a very short amount of time. A lot of work was actually done by the footage itself. It was our very first experience with stock footage and it opened totally new creative possibilities for us”, Malte Ollroge and Christoph Hars are explaining their work. The film is about two houseless people and a businessman, who realize that their “homeless” situation is not that different. But against traditional clichés the houseless people are feeling a lot more sorry for the businessman than vice versa.
Top Five
The top five films are completed by two more entries from the UK: “Frank” by Cassie Earl and Charlotte Humphreys as well as “The Good Samaritan” by Ryan Vernava. All ten best films on the shortlist were showcased yesterday evening during the screening at the Cinéma Star in Cannes. The award show ended with a party.
About the 2011 Framepool/ LBB/ FireFlies Challenge
Framepool, the footage collection run by filmmakers, and LBBOnline, the advertising community website, created this award dedicated to the Fireflies organisation. The Fireflies are committed to raising awareness and money for the fight against Leukaemia. Each year amateur cyclists from the ranks of the advertising and film world participate in the “Fireflies Tour” and cycle across the Alps from Geneva to Cannes. They were inspired by the courage it takes to fight Cancer. In allusion to this background, contestants of this year’s challenge were asked to craft a beautiful piece of work showing their take on the meaning of the word ‘compassion’.
The jury of the challenge is global, highly prominent and represents many different advertising sectors: Mark Tutsell (Leo Burnett), Jake Scott (RSA), Olivier Altman (Publicis), Steffen Gentis (BBDO Proximity), Ringan Ledwidge (Rattling Stick), Mike Clear (Mother London), Wolf Jaiser, Sandy Watson Scott (The FireFlies), Al Moseley (180 Amsterdam), Barnsley (The Mill), Ralf Drechsler (ACHT Frankfurt) and Tiger Savage (Tiger’s Eye).
About Framepool The Footage Collection Run By Filmmakers
Founded and run by filmmakers, Framepool is one of the largest online collections of motion content. 650,000 clips on numerous topics are available for immediate download at www.framepool.com. The portal enables filmmakers from the advertising, film and TV industry as well as media professionals cost efficient and successful realisation of their concepts. Framepool manages licensing, research and rights clearance of motion content and has offices in Munich, London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Miami, as well as representatives and partners in several parts of the world. www.framepool.com