straight 8 Shootout Announces Live Online Premiere

Super 8 film competition straight 8 invited creative companies from anywhere in the world to compete in the first ever online shootout.

15 brave teams on 5 continents stepped up to the challenge and each has made a film on a single cartridge of super 8 film, editing only in camera with each pull of their camera’s trigger. Original soundtracks have been made “blind” and submitted along with the unprocessed cartridges of film.

Nobody, including the teams that made films have seen the results. Join them online as the films are broadcast live from Cinelab London via this link.

December 6th, 2pm Greenwich Mean Time - 6am Pacific Time - 9am Eastern Time - 3pm Central European Time - 4pm South Africa - 5pm Moscow - 6pm Abu Dhabi - 7pm Islamabad - 9pm Bangkok - 10pm Beijing - 11pm Tokyo - 12pm Eastern Aus

Entered teams’ votes will decide Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. Winning companies will receive trophies made by Machine Shop from deceased super 8 cameras embalmed in black, plus cash donations for the charities they elect.

It’s free to watch. Anyone, anywhere in the world is invited. Voting for the audience award (purely an honour) will happen live online and one lucky voter will win free entry to straight 8 2019.

It’s the perfect way to get your creative juices flowing for straight 8 2019 - the competition’s 20th year - which opens on December 8th. Anyone, anywhere can enter this and the best films will premiere at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.

Since straight 8 launched shootout in 2016 withAPA London, its success has been proven at Cannes, Ciclope and Adfest with some the best companies in the world rising to the challenge. See the companies who’ve entered and some of the charities who’ve benefited to date, all at straight8.net/shootout

View past shootout films at straight8.net/shootout-gallery.

Ed Sayers, straight 8 founder, comments: “There’s something thrilling about shooting a film and then not being allowed to do a thing with it until its cinema screening. No polishing it to within an inch of its life. No being sick of the sight of it by the time it’s done. This is the ultimate digital detox: from camera to screen without software or sellotape. OK - you can polish the hell out of your soundtrack but you’ll still wonder if it will synch up - and you’ll only find out at the premiere. We’re thrilled to be bringing shootout to more people in more places and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do.”

Asif Kapadia, Academy, BAFTA & Grammy Award winning writer-director (Amy, Senna, The Warrior), and jury member for straight 8’s annual open competition since 2016, said: "I started shooting on Super 8 and 16mm. Film is precious. With no video assist you trust your instincts. This is what I love about straight 8, the magic of cinema in its purest form."

Adrian Bull, Managing Director, Cinelab London, comments: “We process hundreds of films each year, from 70mm down to super 8, and from Mission Impossible to Phantom Thread, and yet still one of the most exciting projects we are involved with is straight 8. The sheer creativity that entrants manage to pack into each reel of super 8 film is amazing, and that’s why we support it.”

Jimmy Lam, President, Adfest added: “It’s a fucking stupid way to make a film, but I love it.”

About straight 8: straight 8 began in 1999 when director, Ed Sayers, asked friends to have a go at making a short film on one cartridge of super 8 each - with no waste, at a 1:1 shooting ratio. The films were screened in London’s West End to a packed audience, projecting off Super 8 with the audio playing from cassettes.”

straight 8 now receives 100-200 entries to its annual competition from all over the world and has enjoyed 13 years of premieres at The Cannes Film Festival, plus stints on Channel 4 broadcast TV and has appeared at many festivals. Past entrants include Edgar Wright ( Baby Driver, Shaun of The Dead ), Alice Lowe ( Sightseers, Prevenge ) and many more.