by It wasn’t too long ago that representatives of The Palo Alto International Film Festival walked into our offices with an idea. The outcome? A project in which PAIFF invited filmmakers to submit their short films for the chance to have their film(s) screened at the festival this September.
We’re entering a new era of filmmaking in which everyone has an opportunity to tell stories. Through technology, people who participated were able to showcase their films… and each participant built an audience around his or her film, even if he or she didn’t win the contest. The excitement and energy that surrounded the contest was inspiring.
We are thrilled to announce that the winning film is YouTube My Facebook by Cedric Vella of Mistra Bay, Malta, which has over 50,500 views on YouTube already! Vella charmed the reps at PAIFF with “a great concept that is relevant to everyone, but particularly relevant to Palo Alto.”
The first runner-up is La Cruz by Alvaro Victor Rozas Leiva of Chile. PAIFF described it as a haunting and memorable film.
The second runner-up is Match by Kate Barker-Froyland of Brooklyn. As said by PAIFF, Kate’s short “executes a beautiful, straightforward narrative and puts as much effort into telling a good story as it does technical aspects.” (Video coming soon!)
The final runner-up is Thicker Than Water by Tommy Tripodes of Los Angeles, said to be a crowd favorite.
Congratulations to the four filmmakers highlighted above, we are very happy for you and looking forward to seeing your films this fall. A huge thank you goes out to all of the filmmakers who submitted to this project and to their supporters as well. PAIFF was very impressed with your work and we all encourage you to keep on creating films!
If you plan on attending the Palo Alto International Film Festival which takes place September 29th, 2011 – October 2nd, 2011 we will see you there 
