They say short is the new long but how much of a story can you really fit into 60 seconds? International film festival Filminute explores just that. Of the 800 submissions from 45 countries, 25 were chosen by a jury panel that included Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, and award-winning novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje. NZ submission Graham was the only Kiwi film to be selected. The finalists can be viewed online - and voted for - until the end of September.They say short is the new long but how much of a story can you really fit into 60 seconds? International film festival Filminute explores just that. Of the 800 submissions from 45 countries, 25 were chosen by a jury panel that included Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, and award-winning novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje. NZ submission Graham was the only Kiwi film to be selected. The finalists can be viewed online - and voted for - until the end of September.The film is a kooky mix of animation and sound design conceived by sibling designers Paul and Kahra Scott-James. Paul's past life in sculpture and visual design is personified in the not-so-perfectly-formed 'Graham', with Kahra's sound design accentuating his anarchic yet comic world.

Her two-piece band O.D.D complete the soundtrack with a cut from their aptly titled tune "Quit", which can be downloaded for free on www.amplifier.co.nz until the end of September.

"We are stoked to be selected," says Paul. "There are some really well respected people on the judging panel and films from all around the world. It's a great initiative and being a part of that means we can access a global audience."

"This is our first episode and primarily intended as an introduction to Graham's world," explains Kahra. "I love short form entertainment but it is tough to get a story into a minute so it's great to get this kind of feedback so early on in the game. He's now off to a festival in New York and we've even been approached for worldwide distribution, which is exciting."

Other jury members included Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf; curator Kenichi Kondo from The Mori Art Museum Tokyo; and Klaus Eder, General Secretary of FIPRESCI (Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinematographique).

19/9/07