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Great coverage for our client, Starlight Cinema, on Nova 96.9FM
CP Communications Director, Catriona Pollard, talks about networking in the latest edition of the Australian Career Practitioner
Media Release: Social Media Women, unite!
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Media Release: Flickerfest’s celebrated best of Australian shorts programme screening at ME Bank Starlight Cinema!
ME Bank Starlight Cinema is presenting the award-winning Best Of Australian Shorts programme from the famous Bondi Flickerfest to North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
Producer of ME Bank Starlight Cinema, Jill Keyte said “We’re thrilled to be showing the Best of Australian Shorts from Flickerfest this season and presenting directors, Chris Kezelos and Hannah Hilliard, and producers, Christine Kezelos and Linda Micsko.”
“They will be speaking about making and showing their films. Their panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session,” said Ms Keyte.
Director of Flickerfest, Bronwyn Kidd said “Flickerfest received over 1600 entries in 2010 making us Australia’s largest short film competition and the only one with Academy® accreditation.”
A total of 97 short films were selected in competition and the ‘Best Of Australian Shorts programme’ represents the cream of the crop of Australian shorts, demonstrating the outstanding talent that exists in Australia’s local short film community.
“The programme has been embraced by audiences from Byron Bay to Alice Springs, along the 25-venue national tour and now we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Flickerfest over the bridge to North Sydney for one last Sydney screening of these fabulous shorts,” said Ms Kidd.
Screening in the programme is recent Berlin Film Festival hit and winner Franswa Sharl.
This film won a top prize at the Berlinale – the Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film, continuing it’s runaway success after winning the IF Media Award for most Popular Film at Flickerfest 2010. The Crystal Bear is voted by the Youth Jury.
“We have fingers crossed for another highlight of this programme, Miracle Fish, for the film’s recent Oscar® nomination. We wish director Luke Doolan and producer Drew Bailey all the best for the ceremony on Sunday 7 March,” said Ms Kidd.
Other highlights screening in this programme include Celestial Avenue – winner of the Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2010, and IF Award-winning Ralph, directed by much- loved Australian actress Deborah Mailman.
Gate opens at 6.30pm.
Meet the Filmmakers: 7.00-7.45pm
Films commence at 8.00pm
For event details visit http://www.mebankStarlightCinema.com.au and check out the Events page. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Gate of North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
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BEST OF AUSTRALIAN SHORTS full programme:
ZERO
Australia/13min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Christopher Kezelos
PROD: Christine Kezelos
In a world that judges people by their number ZERO faces constant prejudice and persecution. He walks a lonely path until a chance encounter changes his life forever: He meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination courage and love... nothing can be truly something.
Winner Gold Award - Australian Cinematography Society 2009
Australian premiere Flickerfest 2010
RALPH
Australia/10min/Video/2009
DIR: Deborah Mailman
WRI: Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair
PROD: Jessie Mangum
For Maddie, it will take more than just dreaming about the Karate Kid, to survive school, it will take a friend.
Best Short Film - IF Awards, 2009; Message Sticks indigenous Film Festival
BOXER
Australia/12min/Video/2008
WRI/DIR: Michael Latham
PROD: Lester Francois
With the speed and grace of a middle middle-aged man, Gary navigates his golf buggy through a giant warehouse only to encounter a defiantly misplaced box. Gary’s desire to organise and neatly shelve the box leads him to discover that there is something in the box... and it’s alive.
Nominated Best Short Film Dendy Awards - Sydney Film Festival 2009; Accelerator Program - Melbourne Film Festival 2009
MIRACLE FISH
Australia/18min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Luke Doolan
PROD: Drew Bailey
8 year-old Joe has a Birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him he sneaks off to the sick bay wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.
Academy® Award Nomination 2010; Movie Extra Special Jury Award & Miller Australia Award for Best Cinematography, Flickerfest 2010; Sundance Film Festival 2009; Winner Youth Jury Prize, LA Award - Aspen International Film Festival 2009; Dendy Award for Best Live Action Short 2009; Craft Award + SBS Television Award - St Kilda Film Festival 2009; AFI Award for Best Short Film 2009
CELESTIAL AVENUE
Australia/20min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Colin & Cameron Cairnes
PROD: Scott Alexander
Kath has been looking for love in all the wrong places. Then she finds herself in Chinatown. In the middle of a less than successful blind date she overhears the soulful Cantonese singing of kitchen-hand Ah Gong. Kath is intrigued. But is there more to Ah Gong than meets the eye? Celestial Avenue is an offbeat tale‚ part karaoke video part cross-cultural comedy about love personal reinvention and startled pigeon.
Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film - Flickerfest 2010; Talent Assist Award - SPAA 2009; Grand Prize – Rhode Island International Film Festival
Australian Premiere Flickerfest 2010
THE NOT NOT-SO SO-GREAT EUGENE GREEN
Australia/13min/Video/20 2009 09
DIR: Michael Hill
WRI: Michael Hill and Jamie Messenger
PROD: Melanie Brunt
Eugene Green is a strange elderly man with a simple dream: to entertain his world through the art of vocal sound effects. Unfortunately he has an annoyingly small repertoire.
Sydney Film Festival 2009; Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2009; Nominated for Best Animation Short - AFI Awards 2009
CROSSROAD
Australia/8min/Video/2008
WRI:Michael Hoath
DIR/PRO: Maziar Lahooti
A nobody becomes a local hero when he rescues two kids from a car wreck.
Western Australian Screen Awards 2009
TWO MEN
Australia/4min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR/PROD: Dominic Allen
One man sees another man running towards him and ponders his motives.
Australian Dendy Short Film Finalist 2009; Best Shorts Winner - MIFF 2009
FRANSWA SHARL
Australia/14min/35mm/2009
DIR: Hannah Hilliard
WRI: Hannah Hilliard & Greg Logan
PROD: Linda Micsko
Twelve-year old Greg has inherited his father’s competitive streak. On a family holiday to Fiji they have different ideas about where Greg should focus his talents. When his creative pursuits fail to amuse his father Greg sets out to win him back. Based on a true story.
World Premiere & IF Media Award for Most Popular Film, Flickerfest 2010; Crystal Bear – Berlin International Film Festival 2010
Duration: 112 minutes
CP Communications Newsletter- PR Tips & News 2 March 2010
I am a very arty crafty kind of girl. I love creating, building and making things and I am in a creative business. So creativity is important to me – both in my work and outside of work.
But I can get very caught up in the day-to-day activities of my business. Meeting deadlines, writing plans and articles, speaking with clients…the list goes on. If I get too caught up in this it can negatively affect my creativity.
So I spent a day weaving a basket.
As I was weaving iris leaves through palm leaves and seeing the basket take shape it made me realise that creativity is about letting go. If it turned out to be something I would have brought home from primary school to proudly show my parents, then so be it. At one point I thought – “geez I’m not showing anyone this”. But I let go and slowly what I had in my mind came to life.
So I can recommend putting creative days into your year, or even hours into your week. It will certainly help in all aspects of your work (and life).
PS. I am in a kayaking team for the Lifestart Kayak for Kids which is an inspirational paddling challenge on Sydney Harbour. It raises funds for kids who have an intellectual disability or developmental delay. It’s a 17.5km course running from Blues Point to Clontarf and takes place on 28 March. We would love your support through a donation.
PPS. Love going to the movies? The best movie theatre at the moment is outdoors at Starlight Cinema! To thank you, our loyal readers and your wonderful feedback, we are giving away 5 double passes to any session at Starlight Cinema. Email me with your details and the first 5 people will receive the tickets.
Brainstorm your way to creativity
In PR, or any business for that matter, we are constantly looking for new ideas, new angles, new products and new ways to service clients, because creativity gives businesses an edge. It keeps things innovative, interesting and drives business forward. Without creativity we’d be seeing and hearing the same old thing.
So what can we do to expand our creative thinking? There are a number of different techniques and the most common approach is brainstorming. Our clients find our brainstorming sessions for PR and social media strategy very enlightening.
The purpose of brainstorming is to write down ideas and solutions in a structured or unstructured way to find out some possible options. It’s a way for people to stimulate each other’s creativity and produce an array of ideas. If a brainstorming session is with a group make sure you have a leader and a scribe.
Here are some rules to guide you through a brainstorming session:
Do not criticise
This is important if you want your team to speak up. A team member may not share any more ideas if their first idea is ridiculed in front of others. Take on each idea and discuss the more practical ones later. Encourage a positive and uncritical attitude among the group members.
Quantity is key
The more ideas you have, the more you can work from and the broader your imagination can span.
Build on ideas presented
The ideas being shared in the brainstorming session can arouse more ideas. Modifying, combining or elaborating ideas will lead to more specific solutions. This can take the idea into a new direction or simply make the original idea better.
Want to know more techniques to drive creativity in your organisation? Read the full story in Public Relations Sydney.
Taking the first step into social media
More and more businesses are using social media because it gives them another avenue to connect with customers. There are so many social media applications to choose from, but with all the options, how do you determine which ones best suits your business? Here are a few questions to answer and points to think about while creating your social media strategy.Why social media? What do you want to accomplish using social media?
You need to define your objectives on why you want to use social media. Are you joining to make more contacts within your industry? Do you want to build on your relationships using an online medium?
Which social media application is best for you?
Take a look at the characteristics of each social media outlet and see which of those support what you want to accomplish. Some options include social networking sites (i.e. Facebook), real-time updates or micro-blogs (i.e. Twitter), blogs, social news websites, just to name a few.
Do you have something to share?
Social media is about sharing content and information, as well as making connections with others. This connectivity is a way to build your relationships and meet new contacts. What is it you want to share?
Who will maintain your social media presence? Do you have resources to keep it up?
Do you have the resources to keep updating your social media profiles? Will you or someone at your company update content, so your ideas and what you have to share is fresh?
Read the full article on our CP Communications blog
Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
This event will take place around the famous ‘Bay Run’ spanning the foreshore of Drummoyne, Five Dock, Leichhardt and Rozelle. It raises funds and much needed awareness for Cystic Fibrosis NSW.
6 March 2010
ad:tech Sydney
ad:tech Sydney is the leading digital marketing and advertising event in Australia and New Zealand. This year the event has the most impressive line-up of speakers including our client Josh Frith from @www who is speaking on Branded Content: What It Means And How It Will Affect The Future Of Your Brand
16-17 March 2010
Focusing Your Social Media Efforts – the ‘Hub and Spoke’ Approach
Hear a range of speakers discussing their views on different approaches to social media including Leading analyst organisation, Forrester’s- “hub and spoke” approach: a strategy that focuses on maximizing leverage from the corporate Web site and integrates with public community Web sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for greater reach, impact and efficiency.
24 March 2010
Search Marketing Conference & Expo Sydney
Learn all about search engine marketing and social media. Speakers at this event include the founders of 3 Dog Media & Rank Mobile, as well as the VP of Search-Position Technologies, just to name a few.
22-23 April 2010
Business and Public Relations Writing
Run by the Australian Marketing Institute, this two-day intensive workshop aims to equip participants with a variety of writing techniques and skills for business and public relations purposes. In particular the areas of media release writing, corporate profiles, and producing copy for websites and newsletters.
5 - 6 May 2010
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