Written by Shona Smith on Apr 24, 2020. Posted in Awards and Festivals

straight 8 shootout announce 'the isolation edition'

adamandeveDDB, Caviar, Iris Worldwide, Partizan, VCCP and more to go head-to-head in global celluloid filmmaking challenge from lockdown.

Weeks before the world went wobbly, some creative companies snapped up their places to compete for charity in straight 8 shootout. They signed up to make a film in one of the hardest ways on earth: edited in-camera, on one roll of super 8, with no post-production, and to see it – warts and all – for the first time ever on a big screen at Cannes during Lions week.

Cut to today. As if that wasn’t hard enough, straight 8, their partners: APA, Cinelab London, No.8, Panavision, Machine Shop and the cohort of entered creative companies have all agreed to take the challenge to the next level: shooting only in strict isolation. Premiering on June 25th, the same day the real world premiere was booked in for Cannes, all without breaking isolation guidelines.

Confirmed companies include adamandeveDDB, Caviar, Dog Eat Dog Productions, Iris Worldwide, JAM VFX, Partizan, Rockhound, Thomas Thomas and VCCP from London. International entrants include Blur Films + 24/7 Madrid office, Yolafilmo Productions in Barcelona, Groundglass in Cape Town, Mr+Positive and Nion in Tokyo, Gloria Content and 432 Films in Los Angeles. There is space for just a couple more companies to join. To apply email entrants@straight8.net ASAP.

The first time anyone will see even their own work - no matter how, or even if, it came out - is at the premiere live online, with the world watching. During the stream, entered companies will cast their votes, not voting for their own film. The winners will get an iconic camera trophy made by shootout partners, Machine Shop, and will get to donate prize money to the charities of their choice. Last year straight 8 Cannes winners included Helsinki's Directors Guild, Iris Worldwide, and Rankin Film.

Straight 8 Founder Ed Sayers says, “I love the fact that this amazing group of companies, where David meets Goliaths head on, has signed up to this now even harder version of our already-stupidly-hard challenge – this time without compromising the lockdown. We can’t wait to see what gets made, who comes out top and we wish everyone luck and a great experience”.

Jenny Beckett, Managing Director, Partizan, comments: “Partizan is absolutely thrilled to be involved with straight 8 this year. At its core, straight 8 is a creative challenge, and 2020 is proving the biggest one yet for our industry. Keeping the competition going is a comforting reminder that life can, and will go on when this is all over, and of the resilience of our industry. The added challenge of completing straight 8 whilst in isolation will add a totally new dimension to the films and inevitably really test the creativity of the filmmakers".

Click here to find out more about the straight 8 shootout: the isolation edition.