Foyle Film Festival, Northern Ireland’s only Oscar-affiliated film festival, has launched its 2022 Light In Motion Competition.
The competition is open to filmmakers and animators across the world. Filmmakers can enter their films under three competition categories: Best Irish Short; Best International Short; and Best Animated Short.
Winners of the Light in Motion Awards qualify for consideration in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards without needing the standard theatrical run. Foyle Film Festival is also an IMDb Qualifying Festival, granting all eligible film submissions a fast-tracked title page on IMDb.com.
Filmmakers can submit their films via FilmFreeway from Friday, 8th April.
“Foyle Film Festival is delighted once again to be launching the call for entries for this year’s Light In Motion Competition,” said Festival Director Bernie McLaughlin. “We are looking forward to seeing all the entries and announcing the winners.”
Previous Foyle Film Festival winners and competitors who have proceeded to win the Oscar® include: Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman for Skin (2019), Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton for The Silent Child (2018), Terry George for The Shore (2012), Martin McDonagh for Six Shooter (2006), Andrea Arnold for Wasp (2004), Adam Elliot for Harvie Krumpet (2003), and Eric Armstrong for Chubbchubbs (2002).
Previous Foyle Film Festival winners and competitors who have proceeded to win the BAFTA include: Paloma Baeza, Ser En Low for Poles Apart (2018), Nina Gantz, Emilie Jouffroy for Edmond (2016) and Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe for A Morning Stroll (2012).
A flagship project of the Nerve Centre, Foyle Film Festival has become renowned for attracting top industry professionals to Derry-Londonderry. Past guests have included Richard E Grant, Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Christie, Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Wim Wenders and Stephen Frears.
Funded by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen and Derry City and Strabane District Council, Foyle Film Festival delivers a comprehensive programme of documentaries, short films and feature films from all over the world.
“Foyle Film Festival’s Oscar-affiliated Light in Motion competition offers a fantastic opportunity for local filmmakers and animators to showcase their projects alongside their peers from all around the world,” added Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen. “We’re proud to support this initiative and have no doubt the standard of entries will be extremely impressive.”
The category winners will be announced at the closing evening LIM Awards Ceremony, Sunday, 27th November.