Every year at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, HP’s Bridging The Borders Award, presented by Cinema Without Borders and sponsored by HP, goes to a short film that helps to bring people of the world and different cultures closer together. In 2016 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 six nominees for the 2016 HP’s Bridging The Borders Award are French (France), Home (Kosovo), Irregulars (Italy), My Aleppo (US), Sueños verticales (Mexico) and We All Love the Seashore (Spain)
The winner of the Best International Short Film Award will be announced in the closing ceremony of the Palm Springs International ShortFest on Sunday June 26, 2016.
French (Le bleu blanc rouge de mes cheveux)
Teenage Seyna faces unexpected obstacles on her mission to become a French citizen, from the disapproval of her Cameroonian father to the limitations of the camera lens.
Country: France Year: 2016
Running Time: 21 minutes
Director: Josza Anjembe
Music: Jan Visocky
Website: www.yukunkun.fr
Home
A young, happy family seems to be going on holiday but is instead on a journey similar to millions of others in this speculative and provocative film.
Country: Kosovo/UK/U.S.
Year: 2016
Running Time: 20 minutes
Langauge: English
Director: Daniel Mulloy
Irregulars
Against the backdrop of a mannequin factory, one refugee tells his harrowing story.
Country: Italy
Year: 2015
Running Time: 9 minutes
Langauge: English
Subtitles: Yes
Awards: Best Documentary and The Ellen Award, Aspen Shortsfest; Audience Award, Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg
Director: Fabio Palmieri
Music: Traditional African
Website: http://www.notworkingfilms.com/irregulars/
My Aleppo
Country: U.S.
Year: 2015
Running Time: 19 minutes
Langauge: Arabic
Subtitles: Yes
Awards: Best Student Documentary Award, IDFA
Director: Melissa Langer
Sueños verticales
Every day two people die trying to cross the wall from Tijuana to the USA. Mexican filmmaker Flavio Florencio uses the wall to explore the ever-growing pool of unrequited dreams.
Country: Mexico
Running Time: 3 minutes
PremierStatus: World premiere
Director: Flavio Florencio
We All Love the Seashore (Tout le monde aime le bord de la mer)
Country: Spain
Year: 2016
Running Time: 18 minutes
Langauge: French
Subtitles: Yes
Awards: Prix Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Director: Keina Espiñeira
Cinema Without Borders’ Jury Members for HP Bridging The Borders Award
Heydar Adel
Heydar has been working as an editor in television for 17 years. His specialty is online editing, which is the final editing pass in the post production workflow and involves the final assembly of the picture and visual effects. Heydar Adel works at Company 3, a division of Deluxe, which handles 75% of all television content on air. His credits include CSI, Person of Interest, Narcos, Hawaii Five-O, Black Sails, 24, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Heydar Adel full list of credits is on his IMDB: http://www.imdb.me/heydaradel
Vladek Juszkiewicz
Vladek was born in Glogow, Poland. He graduated from the Szczecin Technical University with a degree in Engineering. While attending the University he became a member of The Szczecin Technical University Choir, serving as a President and manager of the group. His travels with the choir took him to 18 countries including United States where he visited the White House.
When he moved to Warsaw he became the manager of the Polish international star singer Maryla Rodowicz.
In Warsaw was responsible for the students’ international cultural exchange at the Headquarter of the Polish Student Association.
After immigrating to the United States he was introduced to producer, writer and director Paul Leder. He worked on 11 films with the late Mr. Leder.
Vladek at IMDb.com: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0433251/?ref_=rvi_nm
In 1999 he founded the Polish Film Festival Los Angeles and is serving as the Festival’s Director.
Served on the juries of the Los Angeles Hungarian Film Festival, the Los Angeles South East European Film Festival and New York Polish Film Festival.
In 2007 the President of Poland awarded him with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for promoting Polish culture abroad. The City of Glogow has awarded him the title of Honorary Citizen of Glogow.
www.polishfilmla.org
Susan Morgan Cooper
In 2008 Susan made the highly acclaimed, award winning documentary, An Unlikely Weapon. It was the story of Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer, Eddie Adams, who’s Saigon Execution photo was credited with helping end the Vietnam War. The Hollywood Reporter called it ‘ a terrific documentary’.
In 2012 Susan went to China to film Mulberry Child, where she traced a present day mother and daughter’s emotional disconnect back to Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Critic Roger Ebert called Mulberry Child ‘a powerful and touching film’ and gave it three and a half stars.
In 2013, with Cass Warner, Susan co-wrote and co-produced a documentary about the iconic actor Dennis Hopper.
“I was moved to tears watching Cass Warner’s documentary on Dennis Hopper” Mike Medavoy
In 2016 Susan completed a film on the Russian Adoption Ban and it’s impact on hundreds of American families and thousands of Russian orphans. ” A cinematic act of love and courage” Broadway World.
Wyatt Phillips
A fanatic cinephile with a taste for the psychotronic, Wyatt Phillips is a screenwriter, illustrator, and reviewer born and raised in Chicago, IL – currently transplanted to Los Angeles and working as Assistant Editor at Cinema Without Borders.
Bijan Tehrani
Bijan Tehrani, a film director, film critic and writer, is a long time editor-in-chief of Cinema Without Borders, digital magazine which covers world cinema and Hollywood. He has directed over 200 documentaries and animated TV series, written about film in various publications and served as digital editor of Animation Magazine for eight years. Bijan has won several awards at international film festivals and book fairs for his short films and children’s books.