STRAIGHT 8 Shootout Cannes: Winners of Short Filmmaking Competition Announced

On Friday 24th June, in sunny Cannes, 21 companies nervously sat in the 246 seat Screen one at Cinema les Arcades waiting to see how and whether their one-roll Super 8 films had turned out. An exceptional industry turnout from all over the world arrived to watch and support the companies confident enough to put their name on a film shot in story order, with no re-takes, edit, grade or post-production, on real film!

The line-up was as follows: 10days // Agile Films // Black Dog Films // Caviar // Dog Eat Dog // Flipt // Greatcoat Films // Iris // Mad Cow Films // Merman // No8 // Ntropic // Park Village // Partizan // Somesuch // Spindle // Mr+Positive // The Lift // The Producers // VCCP London // Work Editorial

After an alfresco breakfast, sponsored by LS Productions, for those who could stomach it, the throng headed into the comfort of dark, air-conditioning for the big unveiling. There were no disasters (the organisers at straight 8 vow to show every film, even if it turns out black). The standard of filmmaking was probably the highest seen since straight 8 shootout’s current format launched in 2016. The ticket money raised over £1,500 for The Fireflies Ride’s fund for Blood Cancer UK.

Immediately after the films graced the silver screen: rushes, final cut and premiere all in one go, the companies in competition cast their votes for the Gold, Silver, Bronze trophy awards - not voting for their own film. And the STRAIGHT 8 Shootout Cannes 2022 winners are..

• Bronze - VCCP - 'Date Dreaming'
• Silver - Iris - 'Commercial Break'
• Gold - Work Editorial - 'The Moove'

And the audience award, for the film that got the biggest applause but no trophy, was...

• Audience Award - Merman - 'Nine Thirty'

Lola Cookman, Work Editorial (Gold winners): “What a shock! We are all so grateful for everyone who voted for our film. Being an edit house entering a competition that requires no editing we definitely had our work cut out... It was tough but we grabbed it by the bulls.”

Héctor Ojea Pereiro & Isabel Rodríguez Albarrán, Iris (Silver winners): "The moment you see your film on screen and it’s not pitch black you’ve won."

George Wait, VCCP (Bronze Winners): “It was the most anxiety-inducing shoot of my life but was such a fun challenge! Words can’t describe the sense of relief to see the film turned out well and wasn’t just a blank screen. This definitely won’t be our last straight 8 entry!”

Sophie King, Merman (Audience Award Winner): “I'm absolutely delighted to hear that we've received the audience award this year. It's particularly hard with comedy to know whether you're the only person who finds what you're making funny, so this is a huge relief. But not as big as the relief that the film itself actually played without any technical hitches!”

Hugo Blackburn, UK production music Mmnager, Warner Chappell Production Music (Shootout Partner Company, and Hugo’s first Shootout): - “Being able to witness the level of creativity at this year’s straight 8, was just incredible. I’m glad I wasn’t part of the voting as I wouldn’t be able to choose! A huge congrats to the winners, everyone who took part and to Ed and Alex for a fantastic shootout.”

Steve Davies, chief executive, APA London, says, “straight 8 is back with a brilliant edition. Congratulations to all the companies - having a go is the success. It’s tribute to ingenuity, creativity and the ‘can-do’ of the people that make our industry what it is.”

For those who missed it, the show will re-screen at The Prince Charles Cinema, Screen 1, London on June 30th 2022 at 4pm, followed by an after-party.

Limited tickets are available here or e-mail: hello@straight8.net for cancellation list.

The films will not be available until after the London Re-Run on June 30th. The show is also available by request to screen publicly elsewhere in the world. Contact straight 8 for details.

To take part in the next straight 8 shootout, register your company’s interest now here.