Fancy yourself a bit of a Spielberg behind the lens?
The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival, Ireland’s newest International Film Festival dedicated to filmmakers exclusively using mobile devices – including phones and tablets – kicks off later this month, on 27 January to be precise.
The festival was founded by Robert Fitzhugh, a filmmaker who has previously worked for the Reel World Film Festival in Canada and more recently as part of the PR and marketing team for the Fingal Film Festival.
The festival will screen a selection of short film, documentary, animation and music videos, along with educational workshops.
The festival boasts 65 entries from more than 25 countries, with awards categories including Best Fiction, Music video, Documentary, Animation, and Best 360/VR film with entries restricted to no longer than 15 minutes in length.
#dubsmartff is proud to announce @Tada_Jess as one of the judges for this year's #dubsmartff. Welcome aboard, looking forward to your insights for the upcoming event pic.twitter.com/Wfd4KQWzbX
— Dublin Smartphone FF (@DubSmartFF) December 28, 2017
The festival programmers are on the lookout for strong original concepts with an inventive use of the technology.
And to attract these strong concepts, the powers-that-be have teamed up with smartphone equipment manufacturers including Shoulderpod, Helium, Iographer, ProShot, Gripgear and Zhiyun to award prizes for each category.
Fitzhugh praised the humble mobile phone and revealed what inspired him to found the festival in the first place.
“As a filmmaker myself, I noticed how accessible mobile phones were,” he said.
“The phone provides an open playing field for filmmakers at all levels. No longer is expensive technology a barrier to creativity.
”The mobile phone has expanded the scope and freedom for what filmmakers can do. Mobile devices offer all the tools a filmmaker needs right there in the palm of your hand.
He went on to explain what he hopes to do with the Dublin Smartphone Festival, saying:
”The festival’s mission is to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to share their stories and to provide them with a platform to present these stories to a wider audience.”
The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival will take place in the Generator Hostel in Smithfield on 27 January from 2pm – 7pm.
Those looking to purchase tickets can do so here.
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