AiM 2009 competition shortlist announced

The winner will be announced at a special awards ceremony directly after the screenings and awarded £1,000 to help them with their filmmaking career. There will also be an Audience Choice Award, announced at the end of the festival.

The judging panel will consist of Algerian filmmaker and director of The Yellow House, Amor Hakkar; filmmaker, journalist and regular on BBC 2's The Culture Show, Zina Saro-Wiwa; director of the Scottish Documentary Institute, Noe Mendelle; and film critic, writer and producer Mark Cousins.

Says Cousins of the competition: "Short films are the spurts of life, the new shoots, of the film world. It is great that Africa in Motion is focusing on them. That's where the discovery and vitality is. The short film competition, and its considerable prize, is a brilliant way of putting the festival's money where its mouth is, and giving a fillip to the zingy and daring new African directors. I am delighted to be part of it."

Festival co-director, Stefanie Van de Peer, comments: "In our experience at AiM, shorts often act as a platform for the next new sensation of African filmmaking. One of them might be on the screens during our shortfilm competition on Monday 26th October. A prize of £1,000 will be awarded to the best short by a jury of film professionals from Scotland and Africa. With films from as far as Mali, Mozambique and South Africa, and as diverse in genre as they are in origin, we are sure our audiences will find it exciting to vote for their favourites as well!""

The shortlist includes:

• A Rite of Passage, Paul Emmanuel, South Africa, 2008
  
• The Young Lady and the Teacher, Mohamed Nadif, Morocco, 2007
  
• Hidden Places (Fithla), Jamie Beron, South Africa, 2008
  
• A History of Independence, Daouda Coulibaly, Mali, 2009
  
• Borderline, Sonia Chamkhi, Tunisia, 2007
  
• Waramuteseho!, Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu, Cameroon, 2009
  
• The Storm (Tempestade), Orlando Mesquita, Mozambique, 2008

For more information, go to www.africa-in-motion.org.uk.

To purchase tickets, call Filmhouse box office 0131 228 2688 or book online at www.filmhousecinema.com.