[press release from Haystac]
Three talented animators from Sydney have won Australia’s first mobile and online animation film festival with their short film, First Love about a cavemen finding romance in the ice age.
The Bondi Beach animators, Matthew Duffy, Matt Dignam and Landon Curry were presented with the BigPond Animation Award at the opening night of the 2009 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival on Thursday, 19 February 2009.
Telstra Media Group Managing Director, Justin Milne said Telstra was proud to encourage young artists to think about how they can use broadband internet and mobile phones to display their work.
“I congratulate Matthew, Matt and Landon on winning our first ever BigPond Animation Award with their comical film, First Love,” Mr Milne said.
“Australia has a long track record of punching well above its weight in the areas of film, animation and digital entertainment. BigPond is delighted to help foster great new talent in a small way.
“Each of the 12 films really demonstrated how film makers are thinking about how they can use digital entertainment to premiere their work.
“I’m pleased both Telstra and Screen Australia could come together to help produce some fantastic films which are still available to view online at BigPond for everyone to enjoy,” he said.
Matt Dignam winning co-director said he was thrilled his film was voted most popular.
“I was elated to hear that our film First Love had won. With so much talent and diversity amongst the other entries it was always going to be a close call,” Mr Dignam said.
“I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this win possible, including Telstra BigPond, Screen Australia, Stu&Duff and the talented team at Twitch Studios who helped bring the film to life. I couldn’t be happier with the result and am pleased to see that audiences enjoyed watching our film as much as we enjoyed creating it,” he said.
Matthew Duffy, who also directed First Love, echoed his friend’s statement: “We’re really excited to have had the opportunity to create this film and have it appear across so many different channels like mobile phones, online and at the 2009 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival.”
First Love was part of a joint initiative between BigPond and Screen Australia called Great Moments in History or: funny stuff that happened between the Big Bang and the End of the World. Animators were asked to create short films suitable for viewing on mobile phones and on the internet.
Martha Coleman, Screen Australia Head of Development said, “We are thrilled to have collaborated with Telstra BigPond to bring this exciting initiative to fruition. All 12 animation teams demonstrated great comic talent. It’s a pleasure to see the BigPond Animation Award go to the First Love team as a result of their film receiving the most ratings both on mobile and online.”
The 12 films, each telling a comical tale of a different moment in history, were launched on Telstra Next G™ mobile phones on 24 November 2008 and then online at BigPond from 26 January 2009. Viewers could rate each film out of five stars. First Love received the most ratings both on mobile and online.
First Love was screened to a VIP audience during opening night of the 2009 BigPond Animation Film Festival on Thursday, 19 February, where the animation team was presented with the BigPond Animation Award.
First Love and the 11 other films will be available to view for free online until the end of the year at www.bigpond.com/great-moments.
Great Moments in History short films include:
· The Pyramids
· First Love
· Tea Brain
· Factoids and Slapstick
· The Greatest Moment in the History of the Universe… Ever!
· Guns, Vodka and Gravity
· Flight test: The invention of the Airplane
· The Story True
· The Not So Great Moment Before the Big Bang
· The Invention of Happy Hour
· Man Makes History
· Rise and Fall
http://www.bigpond.com/great-moments/