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New Zealand short film Hitch Hike has been selected to screen in competition at the prestigious Tampere Film Festival in its 42nd edition.

New Zealand short film Hitch Hike has been selected to screen in competition at the prestigious Tampere Film Festival in its 42nd edition.

Hitch Hike directed by Matthew Saville and produced by Julia Parnell will be making a big splash on the International Festival Circuit this March. The film’s world premiere will be hosted by Tampere Film Festival which is rated an ‘A list’ shorts film festival by the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC).

The frank and touching story follows a hitchhiking teenager determined to meet his birth mother who finds solace in the strangest of places. Funded through the NZFC’s Fresh Shorts scheme Hitch Hike will compete with 65 short films from 41 countries as far and wide as Egypt and Thailand. Director Matthew Saville is also being supported by the NZFC to attend the film festival where he intends to secure meetings with key industry players to assist Hitch Hike’s on-going festival success and to progress future projects.

The Tampere Short Film Festival will celebrate 2012 as it becomes the oldest short film festival of the Nordic countries. The festival shows on average 120 films a year selected from over 3000 submissions. With a focus on promotion of short films sales and international co-operation the festival attracts a large young audience. Hitch Hike will screen in the International Competition section judged by an international jury with prizes of up to 5000 euro up for grabs.

The 42nd Tampere Film Festival runs from the 7th – 11th March 2012.

Media release: NZ Film Commission