New Zealand has long had a reputation for making outstanding short films. Now this has been recognised with the granting of Academy Awards accreditation to our major national short film festival Show Me Shorts Film Festival.

Show Me Shorts is the only film festival in New Zealand to receive Academy Awards accreditation.

For local short filmmakers Show Me Shorts' accreditation means they are no longer restricted to winning an award at an international festival to gain entry to the Academy Awards. The winner of the prestigious Best Film award at our own Show Me Shorts Film Festival each year will now qualify for consideration in one of the short film categories at the Oscars.

The first short film to qualify for entry to the Academy Awards is Night Shift, which won the 2012 Show Me Shorts Best Film award last month. Due to the timing of the festival, Night Shift will be entered in the 2014 Oscars, so we will have to wait until then to find out if it has been short listed.

Night Shift writer/director Zia Mandviwalla says, “It is such exciting news. While this opens a whole host of opportunities for Night Shift it also raises the profile of Show Me Shorts in local and international arenas, which is so well deserved given what a great festival this is! New Zealand short films are made to such an exceptionally high standard and it feels so fitting for us to now have a local short film festival that gives our pool of talented filmmakers a shot at the Academy Awards.”

Festival Director Gina Dellabarca is delighted with the confirmation, “The Academy has very strict guidelines and criteria for qualifying festivals. Gaining this accreditation has been a major goal of Show Me Shorts and marks a milestone in the Festival’s evolution.”

Dellabarca goes on to say, “This is a wonderful acknowledgement of the high standard of films in our programme, and professionalism of Show Me Shorts. We have always been champions of New Zealand short films, and are thrilled to now offer the opportunity to compete for an Oscar. It is not only a boost to the local film industry, but will help us continue to source top international short films for local audiences.”

The seventh annual Show Me Shorts Film Festival has all but wrapped after a successful 2012 season nationwide, which saw strong box office growth. There is one last opportunity to see this year’s films - in Whitianga from 3-13 January 2013. Aucklanders can also catch highlight short films from Show Me Shorts in previous years, screening before Silo Cinema free outdoor films over the summer.

Show Me Shorts screens in New Zealand cinemas nationwide every November. Entries for the 2013 Festival will open in March. Go to the site for more information and to sign up for the email newsletter.

Media Release: Show Me Shorts Film Festival
03/12/2012