MUMBAI: Amidst the pandemic, ShortsTV, the world’s first and only 24/7 linear TV channel dedicated to short films, is supporting India’s only Oscar®-accredited short film festival in Live Action Category, the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF), turning its television network over to BISFF so that households in India and across the globe can experience the festival excitement from the comfort of their own home. ShortsTV, available across major DTH platforms in India, will showcase this year’s “Indian Competition Section” of BISFF for the first time on Indian television on August 16th, broadcasting the finalist films and announcing the winners “live” on air.
Earlier this year, ShortsTV launched a global effort across all of its international TV Networks in the U.S., South Asia, Europe and Latin America to turn them over to key film festivals in each region affected by the pandemic, ensuring filmmakers and their films will be seen and expanding the audience for each festival. BISFF, successfully running for 10 years, is India’s most important short film festival as it is the first and only Oscar®-accredited prize in the “Best Live Action Short” category. The winner will qualify for Oscar® consideration, taking a first step in the world’s most exciting and prestigious journey of filmmaking competition. The festival will commence from August 13-16, 2020, and ShortsTV will be premiering the 16 finalist films from August 12-16, 2020 during 5 nights of televised specials commencing each night at 8PM. Each night will see the screening of some finalist films followed by “Filmmaker Spotlight”, featuring exclusive interviews with each film’s creators giving behind-the-scenes insight into the film-making process of their contender. The winning film and the two runner-up films will be announced and screened again in the finale on the final night on August 16, 2020.
Talking about the partnership, Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive, ShortsTV said, “ShortsTV has been the exclusive international distributor of the Oscar® Nominated Short Films theatrical releases for the last 15 years and the industry-advocate for short-form creators and distributors. The Oscar® for “Best Live Action Short Film” represents one of India’s best chances to bring home an Oscar®, and the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) has finally gotten India into the game. We are thrilled to be bringing this important festival to audiences across India – and the world. There’s a long and exciting road ahead this year starting on August 16th when ShortsTV and BISFF announce the winner, but it all leads to the Oscars® telecast in April!”
Commenting on this partnership, Anand Varadaraj, BISFF Director, said, “We were excited to announce our first year as the only Oscar accredited film festival under the Live Action category in India. We were always a theater screening only festival, however, due to the pandemic, we are forced to move to online screenings. We are thrilled that with our partnership with ShortsTV, we are now able to celebrate the festival with the same enthusiasm by reaching to the Indian diaspora and taking it further to a global audience”
Other Film festival that ShortsTV is partnering with are Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Prindie Film Festival, and Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest in the United States. Similarly, in Latin America, they are partnering with Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF), Shorts Mexico, FACIUNI Becas, Bogoshorts, and CINELEBU.
Also read: Third edition of ShortsTV Best of India Short Film Festival now open for entries
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