Every year at the Palm Springs International ShortFest Film Festival and Market, HP’s Bridging The Borders Award, presented by Cinema Without Borders and sponsord by HP, goes to a short film that helps to bring people of the world and different cultures closer together. In 2014 the winner of HP’s Bridging The Borders Award will receive received an HP ZBook mobile workstation with an approximate $3000 value. The prize was provided by HP, who sponsors the award.The runner up film will receive a certificate for an upcoming Method Acting Intensive with a value of $2000 from Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.
The six nominees for the 2014 HP’s Bridging The Borders Award are 5cm (China), Bahar In Wonderland (Germany), Children Of God (Iraq), Foad (Norway), Kush (India), Mirror Image (Israel) and Point Of Origin (India).
The winner of the Best International Short Film Award will be announced in the closing ceremony of the Palm Springs International ShortFest Film Festival and Market on Sunday June 22, 2014.
5cm (China)
After years of being overlooked by the National Ballet of China in favor of his talented rival/friend, the stunning dancer Xiao Xiang has one last chance to dominate the stage and impress a foreign director who has the power to change his–or someone’s– life.
Director: Jordan Schiele
Producer: Sherman Lai, Jordan Schiele
Editor: Nathanael Carton, Melanie Schiele
Screenwriter: Jordan Schiele – Cinematographer: Jordan Schiele
Bahar in Wonderland (Bahar Im Wunderland) (Germany)
Separated from her father after making their way from Syria to Germany, young Bahar finds herself adrift in a daunting and unfamiliar place.
Director: Behrooz Karamizade
Producer: Jörn Möllenkamp
Editor: Behrooz Karamizade
Screenwriter: Behrooz Karamizade – Cinematographer: Michel Unger
Principal Cast: Kani Mohammadi, Korkmaz Arslan, Julia Kahl
Children of God (Iraq)
A young Iraqi amputee and soccer fanatic throws his support behind the local girls’ team during a battle-of- the-sexes matchup.
Director: Ahmed Yassin
Producer: Mohamed Al-Daradji, Isabelle Stead, Atia Al-Daradji
Editor: Maha Bazzy
Screenwriter: Ahmed Yassin – Cinematographer: Najwan Ali
Principal Cast: Ameer Hadi, Hawara Alkhuza
Foad (Norway)
A street smart Moroccan boy devises a business opportunity with the desperate refugees at his seaside town in this film about dreaming of a better life.
Director: Farzad Samsami
Producer: Njål Lambrechts, Trude Refsahl
Editor: Rolf Thomas Løvig – Music: Tom Roger Rogstad
Screenwriter: Farzad Samsami – Cinematographer: Philip Øgaard
Principal Cast: Oussama Zemmourri, Mly youssef Ezzahr, Trond Høvik, Youssef Derkaoui
Kush (India)
Following the 1984 assassination of Indira Gandhi, a school field trip becomes a harrowing ordeal for a teacher trying to protect a 10-year-old Sikh boy from the growing violence around them.
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani – Producer: Sanjay Bhutiani
Editor: Shubhashish Bhutiani, Tom Knight – Music: Dharam & Sandeep
Screenwriter: Shubhashish Bhutiani – Cinematographer: Michael McSweeney
Principal Cast: Shayaan Sameer, Sonika Chopra, Anil Sharma
Mirror Image (Israel)
A filmmaker interviews her grandparents about the origins of the family mirror, but their discussion quickly becomes a negotiation over the meaning of language, memory and the history of Israel.
Director: Danielle Schwartz
Producer: Danielle Schwartz
Editor: Thalia Hoffman
Cinematographer: Emmanuelle Mayer
Points of Origin (India)
Will the relationship between an American radio host and his wife survive the ethical dilemmas of outsourced pregnancy in India? Starring Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millonaire) and Tessa Thompson (Dear White People).
Director: Anya Leta – Producer: Erin Galey
Editor: Eric F. Martin, David Nordstrom
Screenwriter: Anya Leta – Music: Rodrigo Martin Munuera
Cinematographer: Nathanael Carton Production Designer: Karuna Karmarkar
Principal Cast: Ankur Vikal, Tessa Thompson, Auroshika Dey, Denzil Smith