15 seconds of fame

Shrt.: The Really Short Film Festival is calling for submissions that are under five minutes in duration, in a variety of genres from stop motion and animation to documentaries and music videos.

"We're still buttoning down the finer details, but we want to get the word out there so we can ensure we get as many entries as possible before the deadline of 31 October 2010," said event co-ordinator Shawn Roos.

The proliferation of short, short films is a by-product of the social Internet and digital film era, which is what makes it different from usual film festivals. It creates a platform for talented, underground filmmakers to showcase their forays into one of the more difficult genres to master and one that is neglected when it comes to film festival circuit.

In the same vein, the international one-minute film festival Filminute, which is now in its fifth year, has a South African film in the shortlist for the first time in the competition. The film "Gumboots" by Bauke Brouwer is one of 25 finalists from 18 countries.

For more on Shrt. go to its Facebook page or submit a short film entry here.