PRESS RELEASE
The 9th annual Joy House Film Festival, is back for 2022. This uplifting short film festival showcases top international short films celebrating joy and diversity. Prizes will be awarded for best film, best female filmmaker and best diversity film, which will be announced on Sunday 18th September 2022.
This year there will also be a recorded online version of the festival, available for 12 hours for those who can’t attend. (A private Vimeo link will be emailed a day before with a password.)
This year’s judge is Wai Chim (author / writer and Ch. 10 T.V. star) says, “There is a wonderful display of filmmaking talent and diverse storytelling! It’s truly a joy to celebrate the art of short film and these submissions were all moving and special in their own way that celebrated the joy and passion of being human.” The film festival started in 2013, by award winning independent filmmaker, Joy Hopwood whose feature films include “Get a Life, Alright” (coming soon on Channel 9 & AACTA contender), “Rhapsody of Love” & “The Script of Life.”
“Giving back to the film community and supporting up and coming filmmakers from all around the world, helps our industry grow. I’m truly proud of all the submissions each year as the films are getting more and more diverse, which is rewarding for me as a founder of this festival. Showcasing films that celebrate joy and diversity uplifts everyone’s spirits, giving people hope and inspiration. ” says Joy Hopwood (founder).
A number of Joy House Film Festival alumni have gone on to achieve international success including Jacob Frey and Markus Kranzler whose critically acclaimed animated short “The Present” led to careers at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios respectively. And Kathy Luu and Jeneffa Soldatic’s short film, “Give me a minute,” was a finalist in last year’s JHFF and was picked up by World Film Fair (New York) and GIPHY Film Festival and won best short film.
The finalists are:
My Gift by Michael Raso. A story about a young boy is admitted to hospital for lifesaving treatment. He befriends a young Indian girl who hopes a cure is found to save him before it's too late.
A Poor Blue-Footed Booby Goes to Tokyo by Haruna Ueno & Tomoko Taiga. A story about the blue-footed boobies of the Galapagos Islands have a rule that only males with blue feet can be popular. After being rejected in a courtship dance by his favourite female, the protagonist sets out on a quest to find "blue sneakers" in Tokyo, across the sea.
Happy Anniversary by Gareth Wilkes. A five-minute short comedy drama by Never Too Late Pictures, combining traditional filmmaking techniques with the cutting edge technology of gaming software Unreal Engine. Jake and Jess are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary by taking a bucket-list ride in a hot air balloon. When they discover an uninvited passenger on board … a deadly brown snake ... it seems their dream has turned into a nightmare!
Anchored by Genevieve Bega. A story about a girl who likes to fix things discovers a robot that is broken, but not in the way she expects.
Ripple by Ryanna Kim and Wes Powers. A story about a mermaid is missing her friend. But when a stranger is dropped into her life, will she accept a new hand in friendship?
Our Shot by Sage Drake offers an abstract meditation on humanity and the ways in which we can help each other through difficult times. The film is comprised of photos from around the world as people from various cultures and walks of life deal with the fallout of COVID-19.
House on Stilts by Nathan Leigh is a stop motion wind-up bird who looks for a place to belong.
Greedy Shadow by Ji Hae Yoon. The existence of 'shadow' that was always together with us but didn't care about! The Shadow who doesn't want to be black anymore starts to change at all. Finally on the Christmas eve, a new magical adventure begins!
Link to live festival 9thannualJoyhousefilmfestival.eventbrite.com.au
Link to online festival https://9thJoyhousefilmfestivalonline.eventbrite.com.au
