The prestigious Bermuda Shorts Competition continues over lunchtime at the Speciality Cinema II from 12.15-1:45pm through Friday March 15th. Documentary shorts screen Saturday and a Family Short Film selection is featured on Sunday. Tickets are available on Biff.ptix.bm and at the Ptix person at the door. The Shorts Sets are $10 (plus ptix fee) so you can pick up lunch at the grill and have a midday break.

The package of several dozen shorts were chosen from among nearly 600 submissions by BIFF’s pre-screening team of Walker Zupp, Lara Hetzel, Daniel Ritchie, Marq Rodriguez and Noula Contibas, led by Juliz Ritchie as Director of Programming for the Shorts. The Best of the Shorts — Programmer’s Choice selection will feature eight Short Films on Sunday March 17 at 4:00pm as part of the main programme at City Hall — Earl Cameron Theatre.

An international jury will determine the winning film. As BIFF is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® in the live action short film category, the winning film is automatically submitted for Oscar® consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences without a requirement for a full theatrical release.

Films of particular interest to Bermuda audiences include Playing with Matches, by longtime festival attendee Neil Leifer; and Aleppo by Bermudian producer Bayard Outerbridge. Mr Leifer, who shot some of the most iconic sports photographs in history while working for the magazine Sports Illustrated, will attend the screening of his film on Thursday March 14. Mr Outerbridge’s film will screen on Saturday March 16 as part of a Bermudian double bill with the feature documentary, A Story of Mezcal, directed by Antoine Hunt.

Short films screening in competition from today through Friday Speciality are:

Wednesday Shorts Set: Marta, Lucia Forner; Magic Alps, Andrea Brusa and Marco Scotuzzi; Being Here, Sydney O’Haire; The Fisherman, Zoey Martinson; Nettles, Raven Jackson; Never Land, Brett Smith.

Thursday Shorts Set: The Only Flight, Royston Innes; The Fantasy, Daniel Maldonado; A Foreman, Daniel Drummond; Earthy Encounters, Sam Johnson; Playing with Matches, Neil Leifer; Yellow Arrows, Yana Sar.

Friday Shorts Set: Petit Four, Kalainithan Kalaichelvan; In His Place, Ofir Feldman; La Guardia (The Den), Iago De Soto; B-167-980-098, Santiago Arriaga, Mariana Arriaga; The Shipment, Bobby Bala; Rain, Ravi Sandberg.

Also selected to screen in competition:

Pike County, Cody Joel; Pale Blue Eye, Keith Nixon; Man of the Hour, Linda Ludwig and James Curle; American, Richie Adams; The Feast, Gaelle Mourre; Troll Bridge, Daniel Knight; Pig Heart, Artjom Baranov; My Dinner with Schwartzey, Melissa Skirboll; Baby Won’t You Please Come Home, Christopher Piazza; Box Office Smash, Phil Dunn; I Don’t Believe in You but Then There is Always Gravity, Umut Subasi; Beat Blue, Julian Alexander.

Screening on the weekend:

Saturday: Aleppo, Anthony Grippa, screening with the feature documentary ‘A Story of Mezcal’ at the Earl Cameron Theatre, City Hall, 6pm.

Sunday Best of the Shorts — Programmer’s Choice: Atlas, Maciej Kawalski; Lucy, Roberto Gutierrez; Skin, Guy Nattiv; As it is On Earth, Pier Lorenzo Pisano; Ralph Styles Ultra, Nic fforde; Rain Catcher, Michele Fiascaris; Hors Piste, Leon Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet; Pleased to Eat You, Adrian Hedgecock. Screening at Earl Cameron Theatre, City Hall, 4pm.

The documentary shorts screening on Saturday March 16, and their directors: The Left Behind, Nuray Kayacan; My Paintbrush Bites, Joe Egender, Joel Pincosy; Everything is Stories: Reviled and Maligned, Daniel Navetta; Winter Reef, Savannah Kloeden.

The ‘family shorts’ screening on Sunday March 17, and their directors: Inanimate, Lucia Bulgheroni; Widdershins, Simon P Biggs; The Wrong Rock, Michael Cawood; Two Balloons, Mark C Smith; Rust in Peace, Ilan Amouyal, David Zerat; Silence, Before Rain, Jason Sklaver, Tawney-Joy Bedkober; Arrow and Oil, Lanyue Zang.

Synopses of the short films screening at the festival can be found at biff.ptix.bm, where tickets are available for purchase for all festival screenings as well as the Awards Celebration on Sunday March 17, at which British filmmaker Mike Newell will receive the festival’s Prospero Award for Excellence in Film.

• Press release from the Bermuda International Film Festival