Nokia Shorts/BIFA Best 15 Sec Short winner announced

A (very) short film about a disastrous ballet audition scooped a prestigious BIFA (British Independent Film Award) at a glittering ceremony in London last night. The super-short film, by Katherine Taylor from London was voted winner of the 2006 Nokia Shorts competition by the judges and won the BIFA for ‘Best Fifteen Second Short’.

Katherine stepped onto the red carpet along with fellow Nokia Shorts 2006 finalists to attend the star-studded ceremony last night. The only category of the night which allowed the audience to view the five nominated films in full as they were announced, the Nokia Shorts competition is designed to recognise emerging talent in the film industry.

Katherine said: “I’m so excited about winning the competition – the standard of entries was very high so it’s really flattering. Having my film screened in front of some of the film industries’ biggest stars really was a dream come true. I just cannot believe I have won a BIFA award, the whole experience was fantastic!”

The Nokia Shorts competition presents the ultimate challenge to up and coming film makers – to create a film lasting just 15 seconds. The competition has been running for four years and, for the first time, this year the winner was announced at the BIFA awards.

“Our congratulations go to Katherine,” said Anna Shipley, Communications Manager, Nokia UK. “With Nokia Shorts starring at the BIFAs this year we hope to give the finalists an even stronger foothold into the film industry. All of the finalists’ films were superb and hopefully their experience at the BIFAs has helped to get their talent noticed!”

“It’s so exciting to be giving the talent of tomorrow a helping hand in breaking into what is a very tough industry,” said Elliot Grove director and founder of Raindance. “Being able to create a compelling film in just fifteen seconds shows a real raw talent. These filmmakers have shown that inspiration and quality shines through whatever the length of your film – what we have here are highly-polished mini masterpieces.”

The finalists’ films can all be viewed here and are as follows:

1. Chrysanthemums the Word - Toby Roberts
2. What's the Point? - Katherine Taylor
3. Fate and Mr McKinley - David Lilley and Stephen Gray
4. Death of the Dinosaurs - Leilani Holmes
5. Ah, Youth - Paul Gilbert

Nokia Shorts 2006 was launched in July by award winning director Kevin Macdonald.

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