Guild Names 11 Film Showcase Winners

Local 600 proudly announces the 11 winners of our Eighth Annual Film Showcase competition. The winning entries were photographed by:

"This Showcase is a preview of the future of the art of filmmaking," says National Guild President George Spiro Dibie, ASC. "It demonstrates a deep reservoir of talent in our Guild, which bodes well for the future. The films selected by our judges are all works of art where the cinematographers played important roles in creating entertaining and interesting stories."

The competition is open to all ICG members who are still photographers, camera loaders, assistants and operators. Entries must be 30 minutes or less. More than 70 entries were evaluated on how artfully the scripts and performances were translated into images that serve the stories.

The idea for the annual competition was conceived and developed in 1997 by Kositchek, a camera operator and Guild member. His goal was to provide his colleagues in the Guild who are aspiring cinematographers with an opportunity to showcase their talent and skill.

Dibie explains that many people who join the Guild as camera loaders, assistants and operators see those roles as steps on their path to the future. He says that many of them shoot short films as a way to sharpen their skills, hone their creative instincts, and to form collaborative relationships with writers, directors and other aspiring moviemakers.

"Rob deserves a lot of credit for developing the idea for this competition," says Dibie. "Over the years, he has played an important role in organizing and managing this important event."

Judging is done by Guild cinematographers, assistants and operators who evaluate the effectiveness of the contributions made by the directors of photography.

"They are judging both the artistry of the cinematographers and the skill with which they execute the visual grammar that supports the intentions of the filmmakers," he says. "It generally takes a cinematographer to make these judgments, because artful camerawork is usually designed to be non-obtrusive and transparent to the audience."

Dibie describes the competition as fierce. He says there were many extraordinarily artful entries, which made it difficult for the judges to pare the list down to 11 finalists.

"While we congratulate the 11 finalists, we are also urging those members whose films didn't make it into the 2004 Showcase to try again next year," he says. "It was a very close call in many cases. You have to persevere in order to succeed in the long-run."

The showcase premiered Apr. 25 in Los Angeles and traveled to France for the Cannes Film Festival in May. Subsequent screenings are planned for New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Dallas and other cities.

For information about previous winners in the Showcase Series, visit our Awards Page.