VCA Scoops Student Awards at Palm Springs International Film Festival

VCA Film and Television is proud to congratulate two of its students, Juliet Porter and Adam Arkapaw, who won their categories at the prestigious 2006 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films & Short Film Market (ShortFest) — the largest short film festival and market in North America.

Juliet Porter, 2005 alumnus of the VCA Bachelor of Film and Television, won first place in the category BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION UNDER 15 MINUTE for her short film Breathe.

Adam Arkapaw, a cinematographer in 3rd year of the VCA Bachelor of Film and Television, was awarded first place for BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY for The City Eats Its Weak.  Both films were made as part of the students’ degree programs at the College.

Breathe, which screened at the VCA’s annual graduate film screenings at ACMI in December 2005, is a deeply intimate story of a young couple coping with the birth of their son who is severely disabled.  The City Eats Its Weak  for which Adam was the cinematographer, is a fabulous and strange tale about urban alienation set in a futuristic city where cameras relentlessly record everything that goes on.

Jury members at Palms Springs Shortfest this year included Sharon Badal, Short Film Programmer of Tribeca Film Festival; Borys Kit from “The Hollywood Reporter”; Kathleen McInnis, Festival Specialist for Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television; and Jason Reitman, director of Thank You for Smoking.

According to the Festival, more than 550 filmmakers and industry representatives from around the world participated in this year’s Festival. 333 short films screened in competition featuring 74 World Premieres, 56 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres and along with more than 2,500 filmmaker submissions, from over 48 countries, in the film market. Held from August 24-30, 2006, the Festival saw 16,200 attendees up 8% from last year.