Cinequest has announced its first Animation Discovery Contest which will take place on its Internet film-delivery site, Cinequest Online. The contest selected five animators from around the world to each create a series of seven animated episodic shorts, running from 10 to 60 seconds in length. For seven weeks, starting today, the episodes will compete for the number one spot until the end of the contest on November 28, 2005.
Unique to this contest is Cinequest’s empowerment of viewers, not judges, to select the winner. During the run of the contest, online viewers may download competing animated episodic shorts, and then select their favorites. Animators have the opportunity to expose their extraordinary talents to the large Cinequest Online audience (over 200,000 films will be downloaded in 2005) while the audience passes judgment and contributes to launching an emerging Maverick career.
A combination score, which tallies the number of viewer downloads and rankings, will determine the winner. New episodes will premiere each Monday. The winning animator gets an exclusive opportunity to create an episodic animation show which will be available via download on Cinequest Online in 2006.
In addition, the Grand prize winner will be included on Cinequest Favorite Shorts Volume 1, a DVD release on the new Cinequest DVD label. The winner will receive a share of the DVD revenue as well as a Tungsten C handheld by Palm (valued at $399).
The five animated shorts are:
7 Deadly Sins for the 21st Century
Directed by Lee Lanier
United States
This bubbly animation delivers New Sins for a New Millennium (as demonstrated by unsavory post-modern humans).
Kickin it with Mr.Flig
Directed by David Blumenstein
Australia
Mr. Flig, a blue lump, is released from jail by two FBI sperms who need his help catching the mysterious Super Bank thieves. Be amazed by his Dirty Harry-style quest for some kinda justice in a “No kinda justice” world.
Tick, Tick, Boom
Directed by William Erik Evans
United States
An aristocratic blood-sucking tick, a disgusting tapeworm with a voracious appetite, and a flea who escaped from the circus at a young age…welcome to the world of Tick Tick Boom. When you’re a parasite living off (and sometimes in) a junkyard dog, life can have its ups and downs. With a cast of dysfunctional characters who live off a trash eating dog, anything can happen!
Friends on Crack
Directed by Temah Nelson
United States
Spruce, a cave drawing and aspiring hairdresser, can never seem to catch his break. His best friend, Clay, seems to have it much more together. This series follows a small group of petroglyphs – Spruce and his friends, through the typical problems of life on a rock wall.
The Monkey King
Directed by Kwei-Yu Chu
United States
These are the adventures of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, and the Monk Tang Sanzhang as they take their pilgrimage through ancient China to retrieve the sacred Buddhist Sutra. As Wukong and the group see more and more of the world, they grow and mature. Will they reach their ultimate goal of finding the Sutra? Only time will tell.
Watch the films at Cinequest Online.
