Imagine Entertainment, Adobe and The Film Zone announced a new partnership for its inaugural social-first short film festival.
The “From Minutes to Movies ShortFest” opened festival submissions Tuesday. This new collaboration seeks to platform burgeoning filmmakers and creators looking to cross over into longer formats. With Imagine’s resources, Adobe’s mentorship and The Film Zone’s social reach, this festival will attempt to set creators up for success in the entertainment industry.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to create and to express themselves, and we believe it’s our responsibility to give diverse voices a greater platform to tell their stories and reach their full potential,” Heather Freeland, chief brand officer at Adobe said in a statement. “The ‘From Minutes to Movies ShortFest’ will give creators and filmmakers the springboard to launch into the next phase of their careers through greater visibility and mentorship.”
Tracey Lincoln, the recently appointed VP of community, brands, IP and partnerships at Imagine Entertainment, told TheWrap that diversity in storytelling is what makes this festival unique.
“All submitted films should really embody that thematic perspective of stories that inspire human achievement, celebrate inclusivity — stories that kind of fall in line within that, which is such a broad theme,” Lincoln said. “We’re really excited about that and hopefully being able to speak to audiences all over.”
The collaboration brings together Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s production company Imagine Entertainment with Adobe’s tools to enable creativity and The Film Zone’s online following to provide visibility for the creators to their internet community of nearly 3 million on Instagram and beyond.
The top 10 entries will be posted to @TheFilmZone, @ImagineEntertinment and @Adobe communities on Instagram. Lincoln said that The Film Zone’s reach as an “audience partner” is invaluable and will provide a platform for the filmmakers as they break into the industry.
“As a community of film lovers and creators ourselves, being able to shape and nurture talent with the likes of Imagine Entertainment and Adobe is monumental,” The Film Zone founder Christian Dwarica said.
A panel of judges, including creative executives from Imagine Entertainment, Adobe and The Film Zone, will select the winning submission. That creator will have the chance to develop their project with Imagine Entertainment.
Distribution and development could look different for each submission. Lincoln said that submissions could have the potential for development as a full feature, documentary or even TV series.
“We’re looking for projects that push some of those boundaries ahead and explore the more non-traditional and traditional sides of things. We’re not being restrictive in that standpoint,” Lincoln said.
Submissions for the festival opened Tuesday and will be considered through Aug. 25. There is no fee for submission to the contest. Entries can be up to 25 minutes long with no restrictions on genre.
