The Skinny Short Film Competition 2014 Shortlist

Article | 02 Apr 2014

About the Skinny short film competition 2014

The Skinny Short Film Competition is The Skinny's annual contest to showcase the best new short filmmaking talent, and help new short filmmakers take their creative vision to new heights. The 2014 competition, in association with Innis & Gunn and the Glasgow Film Festival, invited Scotland-based short filmmakers to enter their micro-budget films, created for under £1000.

10 of the best short films from the Skinny Short Film competition 2014

CEREMONY

"I found it disturbing because we consume films where hundreds or even thousands of people die on the screen or far away but that is just brushed aside, promptly creating a distance between the reality of mortality and the audience." – Mario Cruzado, Director

CITIZEN M

"The idea for Citizen M was sparked by the London riots in 2011. Although, ultimately, the rioters caused a great amount of damage and impacted negatively on their own communities, it was hard not to sympathise with them. Growing up as part of an age group dubbed ‘generation post hope,’ surrounded by a lack of prospects and feelings of disempowerment, the source of the rioters' anger and frustration was clear. It was this tension and ambivalence; between the sympathy at their situation and antipathy towards the damage their actions wrought, that I was trying to translate into Citizen M." – Lucy Holmes Elliott, Director

DOWN THE LINE

"My aim as a documentary filmmaker is to highlight and explore current topics from a more humane level rather than simply reporting facts and figures. I feel that due to the plethora of mediums available for journalism, the public are bombarded by statistics rather than hearing the voice of the individual more often than not. Seeing an issue from the point-of-view of someone affected by it first hand allows for a more intimate insight into their lives which, I feel, paints the bigger picture in a more vivid light." – James Ewan, Director

GAME

SYNOPSIS: Two soldiers are stationed underground in a bunker overseeing a console. Time is standing still and the two men's hopes of being relieved of their duties begin to fade. The situation becomes tiresome as each man begins to resent the other's company and tension begins to mount. They become increasingly isolated as they refuse to show the other any sign of weakness; Ike begins to write descriptions of natural forms on the walls whilst Shotwell unknowingly screams in his sleep. Paranoia drives the men to spy on each other, who will crack first?

HER DOG

"The challenge of making Her Dog on a low budget resulted in a certain formal austerity that I am increasingly drawn to. With this film, I was interested in telling a story through as few sounds and images as possible. I was also interested in conveying this story in a rather ambiguous manner. The idea of conveying the beginnings of a story or a relationship and encouraging the audience to engage with the film imaginatively by tying up the unresolved threads for themselves was something that greatly appealed to me." – Dave Lane, Director

INSIDE

"Whilst studying in 2009, the artist Carolyn Scott and I became friendly with the former Mr Scotland body-building champion Michele Caira who was doing Fine Art. Midway into the course he disappeared, and it emerged that he'd been convicted on drug offences and was in jail. After visiting him and finding that HMP Glenochil had commissioned some artwork from him while he served his sentence, we felt that the story was worth documenting." – Andy Sim, Co-director

LET'S MAKE A PORNO

"I came up with the concept really based around the nature of working as a freelancer and how often people seem to be oblivious to skill and technical ability that film requires and how deep down, a lot of people feel they could do it better. Then it became about applying that to a subject where we could derive the most humour." – Keir Siewert, Director

MIDDLE MAN

"I wanted to make Middle Man after seeing it performed at Write Camera Action. I thought it was funny, fresh, and the three-way phone call offered technical and stylistic opportunities."  – Charlie Francis, Director

MY BRAVE YOUNG MAN

"I don’t seek to take the audience to magical, mysterious places and unknown spheres. The stories I put on screen focus on the way I see the present world. My characters often deal with the simple yet acute complications of everyday life, without losing grasp of themes related to society and individual identities!" – Jonas Bak, Director

THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US

"Having moved to Scotland and had two children here, we wanted to explore ideas of national identity – whether it really matters what side of a line on a map we’re born or reside. The forthcoming independence referendum has undoubtedly brought these questions into sharp focus." – Richard and Frances Poet, Directors

The winner of The Skinny Short Film Competition 2014, in partnership with Innis & Gunn and the Glasgow Film Festival, was Good Girl, a film by Rory Alexander Stewart.

Check out our guide to The Skinny Short Film Competition for details on the 2015 shortlist, and to learn more about The Skinny Short Film Competition.