The Young Director Award goes all “My Big Fat YDA Wedding” with the 2011 Call for Entries film. But forget ‘love, honour and obey’, this film is all about creating drama. So with X weeks till the entry deadline, why not take the plunge and take your work up the aisle with this year’s competition?
The film sees a sinister little wedding belle stir up some drama at nearby nuptial celebrations and is the latest in the YDA’s Born to Create Drama campaign.
Creatives Mira Olsson and Minna Lavola cooked up the idea by generating some worst-case scenarios. “We wanted to dramatize the wild imagination of girls and boys who are born to create drama,” explain Mira and Minna. “We started thinking about situations where there’s emotionally a lot at stake and went on thinking “what is the worst that could happen?” in such a situation.”
Casting was one of the biggest challenges – the script required a little girl who could be sweet and sinister in equal measure. “We had an extremely skilful young director Ben Brand from L-A-D-A Amsterdam on the job, so we knew we were in great hands, but the challenge was the casting as usual. Our, talented, brilliant and gutsy girl saved us all! It was a cold and long day, but our little leading lady kept surprising us take after take.”
CFP-E president Francois Chilot reckons the film sets a good example for anyone hoping to enter this year’s Young Director Award. “I’m always saying you cannot make a good film out of a bad idea and this year’s film is an example of a good relationship between a great idea with great execution.”
If you’d like to enter your commercial, viral, spec spot or music video into the Young Director Award 2011, go to www.youngdirectoraward.com. The deadline for entries is April 15th.
As even the competition is divided into European and Non-European work. There are six categories Divided into two sections (European and Non-European), the YDA includes 6 categories: Broadcast commercials; Web films; Branded short films; Film school commercials; Test commercials; and for the first time ever in YDA history, Music video.
Shortlisted directors can look forward to having their work screened to influential industry insiders and winners will be featured in shots magazine and DVD. Just the thing to kick start a career – just ask previous winners, such as Neill Blomkamp, Chris Cairns, Ringan Ledwidge and Aleksander Bach who have gone on to become established directors. Plus there’s 3,000 metres of 35mm Kodak film up for grabs. Winners will be chosen by a panel of established producers from the CFP-E as well as Lyndy Stout, editor at large for Shots magazine and this here humble blog. Winners will be announced on Wednesday 22nd in Cannes.
As ever we have one important submission rule films that are submitted have to be among the first four commercials ever made by a director the year preceding the award.
