(official Jury Press Release)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Nominees:

BEATS OF LOVE

A Special Mention for Original Script and Best Sound.

RED IN THE WATER

A Special Mention for Cinematography and Production Design

SILENT THINGS

A nomination for Rob Brown‘s fine directing presenting a delicate topic with great sensitivity.

SUNSET ON A ROOFTOP

A nomination for the strong direction of Marinus Groothof on the subject of conserving eternal human values in times of conflict and crisis.

THE ORDER OF THINGS (winner)

This powerful and dramatic film takes a deep insight look at the problem of violence against women using strong visual metaphors. Its deep emotional impact is a result of the outstanding directing, cinematography and acting.

BEST NATIONAL FILM:

Nominees:

PAWNSHOP

A nomination for the beautiful directorial debut of Neshka Karadzhinska telling a story with sensibility and skill.

THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR

A nomination for its strong script and cinematographic and directorial potential.

TRAINS (winner)

For the deep and moving depiction of the problem of poverty, skillfully presented using professional cinematographic language. The strong message and provoking social sensibility and Antoaneta Petrova’s outstanding performance make this film the winner in Best National Film category.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Nominees:

DANNY BOY (winner)

This dramatic, sad and poetic film was impressively animated using human sized puppets. A beautifully told story, strong direction and originality make this film our winner for best Animated Film.

JUNK

This beautifully animated Burton-esque film with outstanding production design and original story told with fine sense of humor deserves a Special Mention for directing as well as a Nomination in the Best Animated Film category.

THE SPOON

For the originality of its script, for the freshness of its design and animation, for the way this one-man film makes it all look easy “The Spoon” is our third nomination for Best Animated Film.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM

Nominees:

3SAI: A RITE OF PASSAGE

A nomination for the strong cinematographic skills and the emotional and metaphorical language.

HER MOTHER’S DAUGHTERS (winner)

This beautiful, poetic film is skillfully directed and shot. It also shines with great Art Direction, Costume design and Music.

VOICES

A nomination for the artistic approach to the fascinating and sensitive topic of insanity. A strong and visually impressive film by Costa e Silva, Canetti and Santoloni.

BEST TV FILM

Nominees:

OLIVIERO TOSCANI – THE RAGE OF IMAGES (winner)

For the outstanding performance of the director and cinematographer. A strong story, provoking artistic and social sensibility.

PINK ANGER – INDIA’S WOMEN FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS

A nomination for depicting with passion the continuous battle for justice in complicated surroundings.

STRICTLY ALLOWED

A nomination for this prominent interpretation on the subject of the lack of freedom, using spectacular cinematographic skills.

Elena Yontcheva, Rouja Koleva, Victoria Marinescu

Just one day to go before the start of the 9th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival in Balchik!

& There's just too much to like - great films, high energy, and bonus content.

Have a look at the FESTIVAL SCHEDULE!

We kindly invite you to the Festival Opening Press Conference with the members of the all-female jury.
Being at the right place and the right time is a tremendous blessing.

Sunday, June 19th
Stone Hall, In THE PALACE, Balchik

Get your

ACCREDITATION

now!

Take a look at the

FESTIVAL FILM PROGRAMME

and learn more about the competing films,

schedule & place of the festival screenings!

EVERYONE'S INVITED! DO NОT MISS EVEN A SINGLE TITLE!

Linda O. Olszewski – Head Acquisition Executive for Oscar Shorts theatrical, iTunes, VOD, TV and airline releases for the Academy Award nominated short films - will lead a workshop during the 9th edition of IN THE PALACE Short Film Festival, Balchik. Power of film will provide the skills needed not only to make a successful film or animation, but also a diskussion about such an important topics as crowd funding, festival and distribution strategy.

How to qualify your film for Academy award consideration? We know for a fact Linda will give you the best answer!

Learn more about the workshop here.

IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival has announced the Juries of the 9th edition of the festival. There are plenty of eminent women that will be judging this year's in-competition films.

Hit the jump for the full list of the Jury members and Stay tuned!

The 9th IN THE PALACE Short Film Festival runs from June 18th – 25th, 2011.

There are three Bulgarian ladies on the jury of the International Short Film Festival IN THE PALACE, Balchik.

Elena Yoncheva, Dr. Emilia Stoeva and Ruzha Koleva - these are the three bulgarian ladies who this year will be part of the all female jury of the International Short Film Festival IN THE PALACE, Balchik. The professions of the three women - a journalist, film director and animator - in Bulgarian language are masculine nouns, but they - Elena, Emilia and Ruzha - are proof that the only category of successful career is professionalism.

The "hot spot" of Bulgarian journalism

The term "hot spot" in the Bulgarian TV journalism is inextricably linked with the name of Elena Yoncheva. Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Somalia, North Korea - these are just some of the countries visited by Elena, who observed the raging war and unprecedented collisions there. Her filmography includes more than 25 documentaries, including Sarajevo, The Chechen case, Israel - peace in the minds, war in the hearts, Colombia - the cocaine jungle, Venezuela - Oil and Revolution. People, not only known but also observed by the whole world, have stood in front of her microphone: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Nelson Mandela, Radovan Karadzic, Ahmed Shah Masud, Salman Raduev, Shamil Basayev. Elena is the only Bulgarian journalist who for five consecutive years has been awarded the prize for best TV reporter and seven years in a row gets the award for best TV documentary in Bulgaria.

Professione: Camerawoman

Emilia Stoeva is one of the few women in Bulgarian cinema, who have a successful career behind the camera. Director of more than 40 documentaries, popular science and advertising films, teacher and friend to hundreds of students of cinematography in the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, New Bulgarian University and the young metropolitan Professional College of Screen Arts, Emilia is the author of the only English-Bulgarian dictionary of Film terminology and the almanac for young professionals The visual marriage of digital and photochemical cinematography. In 2010 together with one of the top directors in the world - Oliver Stone, Emilia Stoeva was on the jury of the International Film Festival in Singapore. In today's lexicon of Bulgarian cinema her name is synonymous with boundless creative energy and dedication to the profession.

The bulgarian trail across the ocean

Ruzha Koleva is one of the young but already established names of Bulgarian animation school, who under the conditions of the native reality, is successful across the ocean. Her biography includes creative projects for some of the largest companies in the industry, such as Dream Works, Canadian Cinar studio, Studio Django. She is one of the animators of the award winning Arthur, Belleville Triplets, Legend of Desperado and the nominated for Oscar The Illusionist. For the Festival IN THE PALACE Ruzha will fly from Los Angeles, California, where she currently lives and works.

I am honored to be on the jury of the Festival IN THE PALACE and I am pleased that after so many years abroad I am part of a Bulgarian project of this magnitude. I've heard great reviews from friends and colleagues who have been attending the festival for years. This is one of the most serious East European Short Film Festivals, and the only one in Bulgaria.

I am expecting an interesting and varied international selection. Furthermore, I am hoping for a strong Bulgarian participation in general and especially for good Bulgarian animation. - Ruzha Koleva.

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List of the films selected to competete in the 9th IN THE PALACE ISFF, Balchik, Bulgaria

3 Hours / 3 Hours, dir. Regan Hall (Jordan, UK)

3Sai: A Rite Of Passage / 3Sai: A Rite Of Passage, dir. Paul Emmanuel (South Africa)

A Balkan Rhapsody / A Balkan Rhapsody, dir. Tatyana Mircheva (Bulgaria)

A Cake Story / Istoriya s torta, dir. Milko Yovchev (Bulgaria)

A Finnish Fable 2011 / A Finnish Fable 2011, dir. Suominen Niina (Finland)

A Handful Of Love / Shepa lyubov, dir. Stoyan Cholakov (Bulgaria)

A Lost And Found Box Of Human Sensation / A Lost And Found Box Of Human Sensation, dir. Martin Wallner, Stefan Leuchtenberg (Germany)

Agape / Agape, dir. Krzysztof Pietroszek (Canada)

All Inclusive / All Inclusive, dir. Stanislav Brischuk (Russia)

An Untitled Life / An Untitled Life, dir. Shin Daewe (Myanmar)

Ana's Playground / Ana's Playground, dir. Eric D. Howell (USA)

Angelina / Angelina, dir. Ani Salich (Bulgaria)

Anne And Trembling / Anne Et Les Tremblements, dir. Solveig Anspach (France)

Arsy-Versy / Arsy-Versy, dir. Miro Remo (Slovakia)

Axis / Os, dir. Borys Shusterman (Ukraine)

B-1033 / B-1033, dir. Pawel Kryszak (Poland)

Beach Boy / Beach Boy, dir. Hannes Hirsch (Germany)

Beats Of Love / Beats Of Love, dir. Wim Geudens (Belgium)

Birth Of A Nation / Birth Of A Nation, dir. Daya Cahen (Netherlands)

Border / Granitsa, dir. Yana Nikolova (Bulgaria)

Bulgarians in Albania. Memories for Tomorrow / Balgarite v Albania. Spomeni za utre, dir. Rumiana Angelakova (Bulgaria)

Canopy Crossings / Canopy Crossings, dir. Gary Yong (Thailand, USA)

Caught Between Two Worlds / Két Világ Közt, dir. Viktor Oszkár Nagy (Hungary)

Chalk / Chalk, dir. Martina Amati (UK)

Changes / Changes, dir. Pavel Penchev (Bulgaria)

Curling / Curling, dir. Adriano Valerio (France)

Danny Boy / Danny Boy, dir. Marek Skrobecki (Switzerland)

Dear Friends / Chers amis, dir. Geneviève Dulude-decelles (Canada)

Deep End Dance / Deep End Dance, dir. Conor Horgan (Ireland)

Dissection Of A Storm / Disección De Una Tormenta, dir. Julio Soto Gúrpide (Spain)

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark Room / Ciemnego pokoju nie trzeba sie bac, dir. Kuba Czekaj (Poland)

Face / Face, dir. Adele Wilkes (Australia)

Formol / Formol, dir. Noelia Rodríguez Deza (Spain)

Garden / Garden, dir. Brander Pirjetta (Finland)

Gitti Bader / Gitti Bader, dir. Daniel Lang (Germany)

Good or Evil / Good or Evil, dir. Stanimir Stamatov (Bulgaria)

Her Mother's Daughters / Her Mother's Daughters, dir. Oonagh Kearney (Ireland)

Heritage / Miras , dir. Fariz Ahmedov (Azerbaijan, Russia)

Hermann / Hermann, dir. Hana Geissendorfer (Germany)

I / Ich, dir. David Fonjallaz (Switzerland)

I Love You / I Love You, dir. Natalia Novachkova (Bulgaria)

In The Shadow of Everest / V siankata na Everest, dir. Nikolay Stoyanov (Bulgaria)

In the steppes of Kalmikia / V stepite na Kalmikia, dir. Rumiana Angelakova (Bulgaria)

Interlude / Interlude, dir. Ruaridh Webster (UK)

Junk / Junk, dir. Kirk Hendry (UK)

Kavi / Kavi, dir. Gregg Helvey (India, USA)

LIN / LIN, dir. Piers Thompson (UK)

Liquidator / Liquidator, dir. Karel Doing (Netherlands)

Long Way Down / Dolgaya doroga vniz, dir. Sampo Mansnerus (Finland, Russia)

Lost among the Lost / Lost among the Lost, dir. Reni Yoveva (Bulgaria)

Love crush / Lyubovna katastrofa, dir. Bojidar Yanakiev (Bulgaria)

Love For Three / l'amour À Trois, dir. Chiara Malta (France)

Madame Perrault's Bluebeard / Madame Perrault's Bluebeard, dir. A.J. Bond (Canada)

Mi Hatice / Mi Hatice, dir. Denis Metin (Turkey)

Minnie Loves Junior / Minnie Loves Junior, dir. Andy Mullins (Australia)

Minute 200 / Minuto 200, dir. Frank Benitez Peña (Colombia)

Mother / Matka, dir. Jakub Piotek (Poland)

Mysteries In The Air / Zagadki vyv vyzduha, dir. Rosen Tsvetkov (Bulgaria)

Night Train / Yoejuna, dir. Maeki-Jussila Juha (Finland)

Nowhere Elsewhere / Au Milieu De Nulle Part Ailleurs, dir. Annick Blanc (Canada)

Nulepsy / Nulepsy, dir. Jessica Sarah Rinland (UK)

Oliviero Toscani - The Rage Of Images / Oliviero Toscani - Bilderwut, dir. Peter Scharf (Germany)

Out Of Erasers / Sudd, dir. Erik Rosenlund (Sweden)

Paris Shanghai / Paris Shanghai, dir. Thomas Cailley (France)

Pawnshop / Zalozhna kushta, dir. Neshka Karadzhinska (Bulgaria)

Pink Anger - India's Women Fight for Their Rights / Schlagstock unterm Sari - Indiens Frauen wehren sich, dir. Dorothe Doerholt (Germany)

Protect the Nation / Protect the Nation, dir. C. R. Reisser (South Africa)

Protoparticles / Protopartículas, dir. Chema García Ibarra (Spain)

Red In The Water / Vermell En L'Aigua, dir. Mikel Gurrea (Spain)

Rita / Rita, dir. Antonio Piazza, Fabio Grassadonia (Italy)

Robbed / Ograbeni, dir. Jivko Konstantinov (Bulgaria)

Russian Roulette / Ruska ruletka, dir. Kanna Racheva (Bulgaria)

Salar / Salar, dir. Nicholas Greene (Bolivia)

Senses / Hawas, dir. Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt)

Sentence: Not Guilty / Prisyda: Nevinen , dir. Elvira Ilieva (Bulgaria)

Short Memory / Zakira Kassira, dir. Marwan Khneisser (Lebanon)

Silent Things / Silent Things, dir. Rob Brown (UK)

Sisters / Zusjes, dir. Stephane Kaas (Netherlands)

Song for the light-housekeepers / Pesnichka za pazachite na fara, dir. Elena Stoilova (Bulgaria)

Song To The Siren / Song To The Siren, dir. Savvas Stavrou (Cyprus)

Strictky Allowed / Strogo razresheno, dir. Kanna Racheva (Bulgaria)

Sugar / Suiker, dir. Jeroen Annokkee (Netherlands)

Sunset From A Rooftop / Sunset From A Rooftop, dir. Marinus Groothof (Netherlands)

Tasnim / Tasnim, dir. Elite Zexer (Israel)

The Carnivorous Flower / La flor carnívora, dir. María Lorenzo (Spain)

The Cassava Metaphor / La Metaphore Du Manioc, dir. Lionel Meta (Cameroon, France)

The Colonel's Outing / The Colonel's Outing, dir. Christopher Banks (New Zealand)

The Different Museum / Razlichniiat muzej , dir. Damyan Petrov (Bulgaria)

The Enchanted Islands / Omagyosanite ostrovi, dir. Simeon Idakiev (Bulgaria)

The Extraordinary Life Of Rocky / Het Bijzondere Leven van Rocky De Vlaeminck, dir. Kevin Meul (Belgium)

The Fence / Ogrodzenie, dir. Tomasz Matuszczak (Poland)

The Good Neighbor / , dir. (Bulgaria)

The Guardian / The Guardian, dir. Jonathan Heidelberger (USA)

The Lighthouse / Farat, dir. Velislava Gospodinova (Bulgaria)

The Lovers / Kochankowie, dir. Rafał Skalski (Poland)

The Mirror / Le Miroir, dir. Sébastien Rossignol (France)

The Money Holding People Show / The Money Holding People Show, dir. Mariya Hristova (Bulgaria, Germany)

The One Who Made It Rain / The One Who Made It Rain, dir. Taws Giil (Iceland, Mongolia)

The Order Of Things / El orden de las cosas, dir. César Esteban Alenda, José Esteban Alenda (Spain)

The Philosopher / The Philosopher, dir. Abdulla Alkaabi (France)

The Spoon / The Spoon, dir. Ivan Popov (Bulgaria)

The Stranger / Nepoznatata, dir. Emil Denev (Bulgaria)

The Twin Girls Of Sunset Street / Les Bessones Del Carrer De Ponent, dir. Marc Riba, Anna Solanas (Spain)

Three Cats / Trois Chats, dir. Martin Scali (France)

Thruth / Istina, dir. Lili Krasteva (Bulgaria, Germany)

Tight / Eng, dir. Eckhard Kruse (Germany)

To Anne Marie / To Anne Marie, dir. Lindholm Petra (Finland)

Trains / Vlakove, dir. Pavel G. Vesnakov (Bulgaria)

Undertow Eyes / Olhos de Ressaca, dir. Petra Costa (Brazil)

Voices / Vozes, dir. Anna Costa e Silva, Fabio Canetti, Luiza Santoloni (Brazil)

Wacked..! / Dürä..!, dir. Quinn Reimann, Rolf Lang (Switzerland)

When Night Fa11s / When Night Fa11s, dir. Derrick Lui (Singapore)

White / Lavan, dir. Guilhad Emilio Schenker (Israel)

You're The Stranger Here / You're The Stranger Here, dir. Tom Geens (UK)

Linda O. Olszewski – Head Acquisition Executive for Oscar Shorts theatrical, iTunes, VOD, TV and airline releases for the Academy Award nominated short films also known as Oscars will be part of the jury at IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival in Balchik.

One of surprises of the Festival this year is the all-female jury. The jury members are chosen to represent the female empowerment in film industry, which is perceived as a "male territory".

HUNTING FOR OSCAR, INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION & TV OPS

Linda O. Olszewski is not only an Acquisitions Executive of the biggest short film distribution company, Shorts International and their 24 hour short film TV Channels, ShortsHD, She also has an extensive studio feature and doc production background (Shrek, The Road To El Dorado, Prince Of Egypt, Last Images Of War, Los Voladores de Ueuetla, The Life Of David Gale, car-ma, Cannes Or Bust, Reality Bites, Cohen And Tate). She has participated in numerous global film festival juries and panels, where she has made it her mission to explain the ins and outs of the short film world, the path to Oscar and the rules on how to qualify a short for consideration for the Oscar short film live-action, animation and documentary categories. She has served as senior programmer of the Palm Springs Short Film Festival, Programmer for the Newport Beach Film Festival and also as a feature, doc and shorts screener for the Sundance Film Festival. She co-heads world acquisitions of Shorts International Ltd. – the largest company distributing short films and for ShortsHDTV, Shorts on iTunes, Oscar Shorts. She's also a photographer, so if she has her camera with her - be ready to be in a picture.

THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT IN BALCHIK

"The increasing number of interesting women in the "male" world of the film industry is a fact so we decided to nominate all-female jury this year. Linda O. Olszewski is the first of the exceptional International and Bulgarian names which will evaluate the competing films in Balchik from 18 to 25 June this year. We are really glad that she accepted our invitation. This shows our position among the most prestigious international short film events. There are more interesting surprises in the list of jury members and among the festival guests." – said the Festival Director of IN THE PALACE Tsanko Vasilev.

25 000 Euro in classic investment gold bullions is the prize fund of the International Short Film Festival IN THE PALACE, Balchik.

For the 9th consecutive year the festival will present current trends in world cinema by the challenging form of short films.

Several weeks before the deadline for film submissions the number of applicants is increasing constantly. So far, the festival has attracted unprecedented interest from 105 countries on 6 continents.

There are four competition programmes in which an International Jury will distribute prize fund amounting to 25,000 euro in classic investment gold bullions produced by the Swiss refinery "Argor Heraeus". In the main competition, divided into International and Bulgarian sections, are competing films not shown in Bulgaria. All films with Bulgarian premiere may participate in the competition programme for the prize of Balchik Municipality. There are also traditional for the festival competitions for TV films, commercial and music videos.

Deadline for submission of entry documents, together with preview film copies for selection for Bulgarian participants is April 15th, and for international participants – March 25th.

IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival is an event of national significance present in European and world cultural calendar. It is organized in partnership and with the support of Balchik Municipality, Ministry of Culture, National Film Centre, and the State Cultural Institute – Cultural Centre "The Palace", Balchik, and is the first and only short film festival in Bulgaria, funded by programmes of the European Union.

The festival will take place from June 18th to 25th in Balchik.