straight 8

+ 1. your final call for straight 8 2020 for cannes film fest this may +++ deals!!

you don't like waiting more than a year to do things, you want to enter straight 8, then this is your time

check out the last minute deals for students, on our FB and other social channels - or just pay full price!

enter now before it's too late. shoot your roll and get it to london by march 8 - get your sound done by a week later. unless you're in berlin - in which case read the next thing...

get involved. straight8.net/2020

+ 2. berlin screening on the first night of berlinale + special deadline

last year during berlin film festival, berlin film society brought us over to present our 20 straight8est hits reel

some of the people who saw the event made a good decision: they entered straight 8 2019. and then they made it to our cannes selection

and this year, we're coming back, again courtesy of berlin film society, to show the best films of straight 8 2019 including their entry 'autonomat'

filmmakers will be on hand for a q&a afterwards

join us there and get inspiration for your straight 8 2020 entry

we have a special extended entry deadline for berlin entrants only: make your film and get it to london by march 20

screening info and tickets here: https://www.berlinfilmsociety.com/events/straight-8-best-of-super-8-short-films

here's the autonomat team enjoying their premiere at cannes film festival

+ 3. think you're funny? get a free place to straight 8 2020 - but hurry up and make us laugh by thursday

The Comedy Crowd is a fast growing global community of over 8,000 comedy creators

their mission is to open opportunities for everyone to create comedy

we're offering their community one free straight 8 2020 entry for the joke that makes us laugh the most. it's totally subjective and our giggles are final

and you can try too. submit your best gag here by thursday night

while we're on the subject, check out many time straight8er and infamous pun-ster darren walsh talking about his straight 8 experiences - excuse the puns

+ 4. jury announcement! two fabulous new jury members join asif kapadia and robbie ryan

we're over the moon to announce two new members of our cannes jury for 2020 - both with stellar short film creds!

jo duncombe

Film Programme Manager at British Council, and freelance Film Curator Jo joined the British Council Film team in September 2018 to run the New Talent and European programmes. Alongside her part-time role as Film Programme Manager, Jo continues to work as a freelance Curator and creative producer for organisations and festivals including London Short Film Festival, Birds Eye View, and CASA Festival.

katie metcalfe

Katie joined global video platform NOWNESS as a Video Commissioner in 2016 where she has commissioned editorial films and branded content across fashion, art and culture. She has also been a short film programmer for Sundance Film Festival since 2010 and has over 15 years experience tracking new talent and developing new directorial voices.

see more about our whole 2020 jury at straight8.net/jury

enter - impress them - get selected for cannes

simple.

+ 5. dates for your diary - don't miss your film in cannes, in london...

straight 8 2020 entries have been arriving since last summer and some people haven't even started yet - it's all good

and no matter where you've got to in your process, you're feeling confident, right?

so let's get some dates in your diary right now...

by week ending april 24 - winner announcements - find out if you made the cannes 8 and/or the longer best of 2020 screening

monday 18th may - tbc - cannes 2020 premiere in a big cinema in cannes

we like to screen on the monday evening of cannes film festival as it's slap bang in the middle of the festival and the day before the shorts festival gets going

5:30-7:30pm saturday 23rd may - the regent street cinema, london - london 2020 premiere

our second year back at this historic cinema - the first place in the country ever to show moving pictures, by the Lumiere Brothers, in 1896. a really special place

tickets are already available now at www.regentstreetcinema.com/programme/straight-8-2020/

(everyone with a film showing gets one comp)

8pm to 2am saturday 23rd may - after premiere party at the phoenix - entry for premiere ticket holders and special guests tbc - email us if you're interested

we had our 20 year party here last may after the london premiere and it took off!!

it wouldn't be the same not to do the same. if that makes sense

NB - this is a bank holiday weekend. so two days to recover! if you love the thrill of a straight 8 screening and live in london, think about a staycation! everyone else, come on over!

+ 6. film festivals - why you shouldn't know everything there is to know about getting your film into the right festivals

because it's a bloody nightmare and a whole skillset of its own

you're a filmmaker, an arteeeest dahling. not a strategist

well you can be both but if you're not, you might want to think about unlocking some of your next film's budget to get the weight of people that do this full time behind your efforts

we asked katie mccullough director and founder of festival formula for one bit of advice -

“For every Sundance there’s a Sacramento, every Tribeca there’s a Tacoma, every Cannes there’s a Calgary International and so on... The festival circuit is vast and there is plenty to be explored. Time for research and an open mind is key.”

check out what they do, and how it works if you want to work with them

Festival Formula is the UK’s leading festival strategy company, with over 15 year’s experience they can help guide you through the worldwide festival circuit. They consider all films for FREE and offer support and guidance with their competitive packages. Check out their website at www.festivalformula.com

+ 7. oh no!! not again! this time last year we had more men than women entering - and it's happening again...

at a similar point last year, entrants were approx 75% men to 25% women (of course this doesn't take into account the cast and crew so it's a rudimentary stat)

anyway then we moaned about it (like we are now) and amazingly in the final stretch the balance was 50 / 50 making the overall result more respectable, though still not even stevens, nor even stephanies

right now it's 68% / 32% which is a teeny bit better than this time last year

so guys we still want you

but 'not-guys' we NEED you

and so do you need you

please spread the word!

+ 8. our instagram... if you haven't seen the new pretty #super8shot thing, please have a look

we've been posting single frames from super 8 films (not always straight 8 films) that look just great as a single still image

we think they're gorgeous, especially considering each one is just 1/3600th of a film

see for yourself and follow our profile instagram.com/straight_8_ and our hashtag #super8shot

if you have some great #super8shots to share tag us @straight8 and add the hashtag when you post to insta and we may feature it

anyway - too many words

look!! seriously pretty #super8shot pictures!

+ 9. (oops, we mean 8.b.) have you got any wonderful super 8 nature footage?

do you have any beautiful super 8 of nature at its smallest or most epic? insects to birds to beasts of any size, nature at its most benign or most dramatic

if you do please could you tell us more or send a link for us to look at using hello@straight8.net and we can in turn explain a bit more

that's all from us. thanks for reading

à cannes

straight 8 x