The
Pittsburgh premiere of six short films and announcement of filmmakers winning
unprecedented cash awards will highlight the evening, when JFilm: the
Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum holds an event culminating the first-ever Robinson
International Short Film Competition, on Tuesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. at
Southside Works Cinema.
The
competition was organized to honor the memory of Sanford (Shad) N. Robinson,
Sr., a noted member of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, by the Robinson family.
“My husband
was a great film devotee,” explains Judy Robinson. “He actually made a
wonderful Pittsburgh comedy in the 1970s called ‘The Devil and Sam.’ Many
people from the local film community worked on the film and will be attending
the event.
“It was a
wonderful little independent movie, and had he not gotten sick, he would have
gone on to make more films,” she continues. “I think it’s a particularly nice
way to honor his memory.”
Judy and her
children, Heather and David, were instrumental in developing the competition
and screening the entries, along with a panel of judges. The evening will
feature the Pittsburgh premieres of six short films. Several of the directors
will attend the gala event.
The purpose
of the competition is to help further the careers of the winning filmmakers by
awarding significant monetary prizes and offering exposure for their films. The
prize winners will be announced following the screenings. First prize is
$10,000 and two honorable mentions will be given at $3,000 each.
The
competition was opened to independent filmmakers and had a wide range of
submissions from different ages -- ranging from high school students to
professionals in the field -- different countries including Australia, Israel,
the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the US and Vienna, and different subjects.
Narrative films were submitted alongside documentaries, and the topics ranged
from Jewish, Christian and Muslim Ugandans starting a coffee cooperative to a
young Russian woman's journey to bring Woody Allen to her hometown. Many
films were comedic in nature, and there were animated movies alongside
experimental art films.
“I’m thrilled
to be doing this,” said Judy Robinson. “I was very impressed by the quality of
the entries.”
The criteria
included that submissions had to contain an essence of Jewishness as
represented by theme, history or culture. There were 28 entries, ranging in
length from as short as under five minutes to almost 40 minutes long.
The evening,
hosted by the Robinson family, will feature the film and award presentations
followed by a reception. Cost to attend the evening is $10. Full-time students
with valid ID are $5. For information or tickets, contact JFilm at www.JFilmPgh.org or 412-992-5203.
JFilm: the
Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Pittsburgh.
