straight 8 jury cheat sheet
8 essential straight 8 facts for judges
- films must be shot on one super 8 cartridge
- all edits are made in-camera - there is no post production, editing or even grading
- 3 mins 20 is the maximum possible length. there’s no minimum
- super 8 does not record sound, soundtracks must be original and are made blind. sync sound is near impossible
- filmmakers see their films for the first time ever at the premiere
- there’s no brief or theme - filmmakers make the films they want to make
- 8 films will be selected for our cannes film festival screening - no outright winner
further info
the beauty of straight 8 is that the films start so small... on 8mm gauge and no budget yet are designed to screen to an audience on the same screen that they watch feature films - so cinematic feeling films with a strong sense of direction are good to uphold. and because there's no post we can really celebrate any film that achieves this
we never set a theme or creative brief - we tell people: make the film you want to make... think about the audience but make the film you want to make
we may select a couple of additional films to screen in cannes as ‘warm-up’ or ‘bonus’ films - think gloriously ambitious failures or really out-there creations
in the past, we have selected films for cannes from all genres, from stomach churning horror films to heart warming documentaries. there is often a strong comedy strand - below are some examples
everybody seeing the films appreciates the restrictions of straight 8; so in-camera trickery and playing on the format usually go down well.
previous cannes screenings have had an atmosphere closer to a rock concert than a film premiere. when everyone is so pumped-up, slow and subtle films don’t play well unless there’s something very bold and clear in the direction that makes them work in this environment
several straight 8ers have gone on to be successful directors and some have got in touch to tell us how straight 8 fed in to their bigger projects - see testimonials - we are very focussed on a rolling future for straight 8 and attracting more unknowns to enter who may go on to be known.
the cannes screening is on may 23 at 8.30pm in cinéma les arcades. we would love to see you there
8 great past straight 8 films in 8 genres - feel free to graze at will. or see others on our films page
comedy:
horror:
documentary:
animation:
playing on the format:
epic:
sci-fi:
none of the above: