NZ short film wins international prize (+trailer)
The Six Dollar Fifty Man has taken out the top short film prize at the Middle East International Film Festival. The Wellington-made film won the ‘Black Pearl Award 09’ for best narrative short film, and prize money of US $25,000 (NZ$33,580).
Written and directed by Wellingtonians Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland and produced by Wendy Cuthbert, the film was made with finance from the Short Film Fund of the NZ Film Commission and executive produced by Shuchi Kothari and Sarina Pearson of Nomadz Unlimited.
Mark Albiston collected the Black Pearl Award 09 on the night and said it was an honour considering the high level of quality films at the Festival.
“It was inspiring to see the Middle Eastern short films and to understand how people from that part of the world live, in light of this I find the recognition very humbling.”
The Middle East International Film Festival, in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, supported both Jason Stutter and Mark Albiston to attend the Festival, as well as NZ Short Films manager Juliette Veber.
The Six Dollar Fifty Man has gone from strength to strength since its world premiere, including a ‘Special Distinction’ at Festival de Cannes in France earlier this year.
The 15-minute short won a slate of awards at this year’s Qantas Film and Television Awards, including Best Short Film, Best Performance in a Short Film and Best Screenplay for a Short Film.
It also had its UK premiere at the 53rd BFI London Film Festival this month and won Best Short Film Fiction in the official competition of Expresion en Corto International Film Festival in Mexico in August.
The Six Dollar Fifty Man tells the story of a gutsy 8-year-old boy who retreats into a make believe world to deal with playground bullying.
Another New Zealand short film, Careful with that Power Tool which was written, produced and directed by Jason Stutter was also selected for the Middle East International Film Festival.
While the Middle East International Film Festival is still a relatively young Festival as it enters its third year, it’s attracted top film industry talents including Hollywood actresses Naomi Watts, Demi Moore, two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Slumdog Millionaire actress, Freida Pinto. Other film heavyweights included Telluride Film Festival director, Gary Meyer, Berlin International Film Festival program manager, Thomas Hailer and representatives from New Zealand’s WETA Workshops.
The Middle East International Film Festival’s mission is to affirm the key place Abu Dhabi holds as an emerging cultural center and to foster the growth of its local film community.
