Kodak drums up support for emerging filmmakers

At the Golden Drum advertising festival in Portorož, Kodak hosts its own special showcase, known as the Kodak Drum. This year it will be held on Wednesday 7th October from midday in the Emerald Hall where you will be able to see three winning commercials each from Hungary, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.  This is one extra country than last year and shows the popularity, enthusiasm and competition for this event.

The Kodak Drum has emerged from the Kodak Commercial Award which encouraged student filmmakers to develop and shoot a commercial. The Kodak Drum takes this to a higher level by taking the winning films of each local competition and showing them to an international audience of some of the best creative minds. Kodak has a long tradition of providing practical support for film schools and their students as well as other emerging filmmakers transitioning from an academic environment and beginning their careers.

The Kodak Commercial Award gives student filmmakers the opportunity to get creative, to shoot film, to manage a production from beginning to end and to understand all the processes that come into play in the making of a 30 second commercial. The competition also helps expose their work and talent to an audience of industry professionals. The majority of brand owners request that the commercials are shot on film.

Film continues to be the medium of choice for shooting commercials. Film capture allows brand owners and advertising agencies to succinctly answer the various challenges posed by commercials. Film's image quality connects with the brand's audience in a profound way that no other medium can replicate. Its cost advantages on set and post-production equate to savings that must be considered in the budgeting process. For spots destined for HD display, film is the highest definition image capture medium and today's digital post-production technology and techniques have unleashed  and renewed the power of film opening up new and exciting opportunities.

"The Kodak Drum is both a screening and a networking venue," said Fabien Fournillon, European Marketing Communications Manager, Kodak Entertainment Imaging. "And as well as providing a terrific showcase for these student films also provides an unrivalled opportunity for the finalists to display their talent and meet people who can help them realize their dreams. We are very proud of the fact that many winners and finalists from previous competitions have secured long term employment directly from showing their work to the industry-wide audience Kodak has assembled on the Awards night."

The films this year at Portorož, in the Kodak Drum showcase are: