Grand Prix Winner Combines Entertainment and Education

“Olive Green,” an online project that combines an interactive movie, a computer game and an English learning application, proved to be the perfect marriage of entertainment and education --“edutainment” --  in the 2015 US International Film & Video Festival, Los Angeles. The movie, produced for SuperMemo World, Poznan, Poland, by Ekstasy Ltd. of Harrow, U.K., won Best of Festival (Grand Prix) – Entertainment. It also received a Gold Camera Award in Entertainment: Entertainment Programs: Action / Adventure. 

The overall competition drew entries from 34 countries.

The movie works with an online English course that can take students from beginner to advanced English, based on a syllabus developed according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The CEFR guideline is used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and other countries such as Colombia and the Philippines. Aimed at self-learners aged 16 to 35, the movie uses games, quizzes 

and plot twists that support the SuperMemo learning method of memorization. Instruction and subtitles are available in 10 languages. 

The movie’s plot has Olive Green, a smart art thief, at its center. Olive is commissioned by a mysterious British businessman to steal a precious painting from a country manor. The mission is nothing like what she expected. She ends up messing up with high-profile criminals, being betrayed, chased and brutalized. And – what she never anticipated – she finds … love.

The film’s dialogues introduce the English language and expose viewers to different accents. Also users can play the film characters’ roles in interactive dialogues and read about their adventures in new contexts beyond the film. 

Mike Saraswat, founder of Ekstasy, was producer on the project, which was directed by Suki Singh and edited by Ilinca Calugareanu. Chris Fergusson was director of photography, and the script was by Wojciech Wojtasiak. General design, coordination and management were by SuperMemo World with the aid of CEO Krzysztof Biedalak, who with Piotr Wozniak founded SuperMemo World. Biedalak, in an interview, noted the project began in January 2013 and while not the largest project SuperMemo has done, he believed it was “going to be the best and, in the future, the most popular product we have ever developed.”

More about the project can be found at www.OliveGreenTheMovie.comwww.OliveGreenTheMovie.com and at Olive Green's fan page: https://www.facebook.com/olivegreenthemovie.. View the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BTTqapkF0k.

Stating 'purpose' crucial to judging process

Each year, veteran documentary filmmaker Neil Curry puts together a judging committee in his homeplace of Africa. These judging groups use the information that

Neil Curry

entrants list under "purpose" to help them make judging decisions, and all too often, the details have not been provided.
 

"As usual, some producers lose marks because they ignore the question of ‘why was this film made,’ on the entry form," writes Curry. "But more importantly, if the makers themselves don’t know precisely why they made the film – and can spell it out in a couple of sentences - it explains why so many of their films end up as simply catalogues of stunning shots and sequences, but without any real direction or focus to hold them all together in the end."  

Good information to keep in mind as we look toward next year's competition. The final judging stages for 2015 are nearing completion so we should be able to announce the overall winners and the Best of Festival (Grand Prix) nominees in just a few days. 

You wanted more time! You got it!

Entry deadline for 2015 competition is extended until April 15. Hurry; get those entries ready. This is no April Fool's joke.

New Judge Works in Caribbean

Ellen Hoch-Kramer

Ellen Hoch-Kramer, owner of Caribbean Int'l Photo & Film Production Service Corp., has joined the judging panel as the FilmFest competition nears its final deadline of March 31. 

Producer Hoch-Kramer holds a degree from University of Arts in Berlin. Her website: www.thecaribbeanproduction.com  

 

Michaud Joins Judges Panel

Justin Michaud

We welcome Justin Michaud of  Telecine Multimedia, Montreal, Canada, to USInternational Film & Video Festival’s 2015 Judging Panel. 

Michaud writes that his interest in film and TV production dates to Saturday morning cartoon and that growing up in an Asian country he was introduced to different styles of animation. He especially liked the anime series, Gundam. 

The early experiences “influenced the types of content that I enjoy visually and has allowed me to be open to other style also,” he says.  

One World Award Supports Tolerance; March 1 Entry Deadline Coming Up

The International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers (IQ), a global peer network of production company owners, sponsors and selects the winner of the One World Award given each year as part of the FilmFest competition. The award honors a production demonstrating international cooperation and global understanding. Established in 1966, IQ is headquartered in New York City, but has a worldwide membership. Its current president is Donna Hampton, capitolproductions.com, Sydney & Montreal.

Previous winners have highlighted health, political, racial, environmental, preservation and child labor issues. They included “Tracking the Monster: Confronting AIDS in Africa,” by Boom Pictures, New York City; “The Battle of Chernobyl” from Discovery Networks International; “Beyond Beliefs,” CloserProductions, Adelaide for Issues Deliberation Australia/America; 2012; “Heritage Saved is History Preserved” about the salvation of the town of Deventer in The Netherlands and “Counterfeit Culture,” from Tell Tale Productions, Halifax, Nova Scotia, about fake products.

      Check out www.filmfestawards.com for details on the 2015 competition. Deadline is March 1. Also, see iqfilm.org to learn more about that organization.