Filminute is the international one-minute film festival dedicated to presenting, promoting and awarding the world's best one-minute films. Filminute was founded in 2005 and the inaugural festival ran in September 2006. Like other leading international Film Festivals, Filminute looks for films that deliver a well-balanced equation of content, acting, dialogue, storytelling, photography and sound design. Filminute accepts films from the categories of fiction, animation, documentary and mashup.
The annual festival and competition runs throughout the month of September. An international jury consisting of luminaries from the fields of filmmaking, literature, art and communications is responsible for the awarding of Best Filminute. Audiences worldwide are invited online to view and vote for the People's Choice Award.
Filminute 2006 featured submissions from 25 countries and attracted a worldwide, online audience from over 50 countries. Best Filminute honours went to Anton Groves for his UK-Romanian production Line. The People's Choice Award was won by Wayne Campbell for his UK production It Could Be. According to Ekow Eshun, artistic director of London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and Filminute 2006 jury member, Filminute "demonstrated a high level of polish and a strong and exciting progression in user-generated content. Filminute has raised the bar in its first year and I am very interested to see how high the bar can go".
Filminute 2007 generated submissions from 45 countries, viewership from over 90 countries, and more than 2 million viewings of the shortlisted films online and on television. The jury-awarded Best Filminute went to Kristina Grozeva's Game (Bulgaria), while The People's Choice was awarded to Siddartha Jatla's Missing (India). During an October 2007 television interview with Filminute co-founder and executive director John Ketchum, CBC journalist and host Evan Solomon described Filminute as "the future of modern storytelling".
Filminute 2008 drew submissions from 60 countries, viewership from 94 countries, and more than 3 million viewings of the shortlisted films online and on television. The jury-awarded Best Filminute went to Oli Hyatt's StitchUp Showdown - Gym Jam (UK) and The People's Choice was awarded to Pici Papai's Quick (Hungary). The 2008 festival attracted a great deal of media attention including that of Wired.com whose headline ran, "If those sprawling three-minute YouTube clips seem to drag on forever, Filminute, the international one-minute film festival, might be right up your alley."
Filminute 2009 drew submissions from 55 countries, audiences from 122 countries and more than 3 million viewings of the shortlisted films online and across a variety of media. The jury-awarded Best Filminute went to UK's Phil Sansom & Olly Williams for their film Black Hole. The People's Choice was awarded to Canada's James Cooper for Life. The 2009 festival drew many positive reviews including Ronald Bergan's Guardian UK article "One Hot Minute: How Long is a Piece of Film?" which praised Filminute’s collection of "technically impressive mini-movies" and the festival’s commitment and focus "on story".
Filminute 2012 marked the second time an animation won Best Filminute, with Director Ant Blade’s Chop-Chop (UK) taking the top prize. As well, Ant Blade was only the third filmmaker in the festival’s eight-year history to have two films shortlisted in the same year. The People's Choice award was won by Ben Jacobson for his smirk-inducing drama Candy Crime (UK). In addition to a record 134 countries tuning in to see the films, and a surge in the number of comedies, 2012 also saw the festival’s eastern presence grow with strong shortlisted films from Lithuania, Georgia, Turkey, and Russia.
Filminute 2013 welcomed American independent filmmaking icon Richard Linklater to the jury who together with FIPRESCI film critic Carmen Gray and other luminaries awarded Best Filminute honours to Dutch filmmaker David Stevens for his excellent documentary M-22. At the same time, the big story at the festival's 8th edition was Martinique filmmaker Khris Burton’s film Maybe Another Time which won the People’s Choice and Top Rated awards, as well as finished 1st in the Jury Commendations. It was the strongest finish ever for a single film at the festival.
Filminute 2014 set new viewing records for the festival with over 5 million views recorded for the collection. Much of this was on the back of Ignacio F. Rodó's moving thriller Tuck Me In (Spain) which won the jury-awarded Best Filminute. The People's Choice award went to André Marques' heartwarming film Grandpa (Portugal) which also impressed with a Jury Commendation, a runner-up ranking for Top Rated, as well as the inaugural Cineuropa Audience Award. The festival and films also garnered widespread international media attention including Hugh Hart's piece in Fast Company "60-Second Knockouts"
Filminute celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015 with Guillaume Renusson's ground-breaking and powerful French sign-language film A Minute of Silence. The film was the overwhelming choice of the international jury which included Oscar-winning producer (and Women In Film president) Cathy Schulman, FIPRESCI General Secretary Klaus Eder, and advertising heavyweight Kevin Roberts. Multiple Filminute award-winner Khris Burton returned to take the People's Choice award for his dark and magical film Nanny. And the Top Rated award went to Romania's George Molesag for his hard-hitting drama Rematch. To celebrate the 10th anniversary, film critic Carlo Perassi teamed up with a Taste of Cinema to write the popular "The Ten Best One-Minute Films of the Past Decade"
Filminute 2016
Best Filminute - Paijana, Rohin Raveendran (India);
People's Choice - Voltige, Brunel Léo (France);
Top Rated Film - Cutting Room, Nathan White & Richard Colmer (Canada).
Filminute 2015
Best Filminute - A Minute of Silence, Guillaume Renusson (France);
People's Choice - Nanny, Khris Burton (Martinique);
Top Rated Film - Rematch, George Molesag (Romania).
Filminute 2014
Best Filminute - Tuck Me In, Ignacio F. Rodó (Spain);
People's Choice - Grandpa, André Marques (Portugal);
Top Rated Film - Earth's Last Hope, Riccardo Servini (UK).
Filminute 2013
Best Filminute - M-22, David Stevens (Netherlands);
People's Choice - Maybe Another Time, Khris Burton (Martinique);
Top Rated Film - Maybe Another Time, Khris Burton (Martinique).
Filminute 2012
Best Filminute - Chop Chop, Ant Blades (UK);
People's Choice - Candy Crime, Ben Jacobson (UK);
Top Rated Film - Lady, Tamta Gabrichidze (Georgia).
Filminute 2011
Best Filminute - Loop, Aritz Moreno (Spain);
People's Choice - Oblivion, Sharrif Nasr (Netherlands);
Top Rated Film - No Man's Land, Dominic Chambers (Australia).
Filminute 2010
Best Filminute - Choose Not To Fall, Matthew Marsh (UK);
People's Choice - A New Prayer, Dorin Pene (Romania);
Top Rated Film - Dark Valley, Oskar Arnarson (Iceland).
Filminute 2009
Best Filminute - The Black Hole, Phil Sansom and Olly Williams (UK);
People's Choice - Life, James Cooper (Canada);
Top Rated Film - Sun-Day, Pantaleone A. Megna (Italy).
Filminute 2008
Best Filminute - Stitch Up Showdown - Gym Jam, Oli Hyatt (UK);
People's Choice - Quick, Pici Papai (Hungary);
Top Rated Film - Rematch, George Molesag (Romania)
Filminute 2007
Best Filminute - Game, Kristina Grozeva (Bulgaria);
People's Choice - Missing, Siddartha Jatla (India);
Top Rated Film - Game, Kristina Grozeva (Bulgaria).
Filminute 2006
Best Filminute - Line, Anton Groves (UK/Romania);
People's Choice - It Could Be, Wayne Campbell (UK).
Filminute 2016
John Ketchum (Co-Founder, Head of Jury at Filminute);
Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Renowned Taiwanese film director);
John Vaillant (Acclaimed writer and journalist);
Barbara Hollender (Journalist, author and Vice-President, FIPRESCI - Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique);
Nayla Elamin (Writer, artist and advisory board member of the Santa Maddalena Foundation
Motke Dapp (Writer, director and 2X shortlisted director at Filminute 2010);
Guillaume Renusson (Best Filminute winner, 2015);
Sabaa Quao (Co-Founder, Filminute).
Filminute 2015
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director at Filminute);
Cathy Schulman (Academy Award-winning Hollywood film producer and Women In Film president);
Klaus Eder (General Secretary, FIPRESCI - Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique);
Kevin Roberts (Executive Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi);
Anton Groves (Inaugural Best Filminute winner, 2006);
Ignacio F. Rodó (Best Filminute winner, 2014);
Sabaa Quao (Co-Founder, Filminute).
Filminute 2014
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director at Filminute);
Jennifer Baichwal (Award-winning Canadian Documentary Filmmaker);
Isabelle Danel (FIPRESCI critic, and President of the French Union of Film Critics);
Kristin Schaal (Popular American Actress, Writer, & Comedian);
Wain Choi (Global Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide Inc.);
Khris Burton (Multiple Award-Winner at Filminute);
Sabaa Quao (Co-Founder, Filminute).
Filminute 2013
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director at Filminute);
Richard Linklater (Acclaimed American Screenwriter and Director of 17 feature films);
Tor Myhren (Grey New York President and Chief Creative Officer);
Carmen Gray (FIPRESCI critic and Dazed & Confused Magazine Film Editor);
Téa Obreht (Orange prize-winning author of 'The Tiger’s Wife');
Jeremy Azevedo (Sr. Director of Original Programming at Machinima.com);
Sabaa Quao (Co-Founder, Filminute).
Filminute 2012
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director at Filminute);
Prasoon Joshi (Chairman, McCann Worldgroup India, & award-winning film lyricist);
Radu Jude (Sundance & Sarajevo award-winning Romanian film director);
György Kárpáti (FIPRESCI- Vice-President & Hungarian film critic);
Arjun Basu (Award-winning writer & superstar Twitter storyteller);
Lenora Hume (Former Disney TV Animation Senior V.P & Shut Up! Cartoons producer);
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2011
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Academy Award) and (Emmy Award-winning film producer & journalist);
Carlo Pizzati (Italian fiction and screenplay writer);
Alin Taşçıyan (FIPRESCI Vice President & Turkish film critic);
Eva Van Den Bulcke (Sid Lee Creative Agency Co-Creative Director & partner);
Jon Snoddy (V.P, Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development)
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2010
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Neill Blomkamp (Academy Award-nominated filmmaker);
Ronald Bergan (film historian and critic);
Tanuja Chandra (popular Indian filmmaker);
Mark Tutssel (Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide);
Jan Lumholdt (Scandinavian film author and FIPRESCI film critic)
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2009
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Hillman Curtis (new media designer and filmmaker);
Kamila Shamsie (London-based, award-winning Pakistani novelist);
Tham Khai Meng (Worldwide Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather);
Pamela Biénzobas (Chilean critic and journalist based in France and Vice-President of FIPRESCI - Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique);
Stefan Sagmeister (Grammy award-winning graphic designer and typographer)
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2008
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Paul Haggis (Academy Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker - Crash, Million Dollar Baby);
David Kennedy (co-founder of the Wieden + Kennedy advertising agency);
Dr. Andrea Dittgen (editor of the German daily, Die Rheinpfalz, and board member of FIPRESCI - Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique);
Francisco Goldman (award-winning novelist and journalist - The Long Night of the White Chickens, The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?);
Taketo Oguchi, (editor-in-chief and publisher of Japan's SHIFT magazine)
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2007
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Michael Ondaatje (novelist and poet);
Kevin Roberts (CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi);
Samira Makhmalbaf (filmmaker);
Kenichi Kondo ( The Mori Art Museum, Tokyo );
Klaus Eder (General Secretary, FIPRESCI - Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique);
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
Filminute 2006
John Ketchum (Head of Jury, Executive Director Filminute);
Ekow Eshun (Artistic Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts);
Craig Davis (Chief Creative Officer, JWT Worldwide);
Raul Galvez (Founder of the Toronto International Latin Film Festival);
Santa Maddalena Foundation (2 votes);
Sabaa Quao (Executive Director, Filminute).
