The Smalls

The Smalls are yet again teaming up with Paramount Comedy and long standing partners Creative Review for The Comedy Smalls, a unique short film competition devoted to the discovery of new comedy talent.
We are really excited to announce that Time Out Comedy winner Stephen K Amos will be the host of this years The Comedy Smalls Awards. He will also lend us his expertise in all things funny when it comes to judging the entries.

The rest of the panel:

Kathleen Hutchison – Head Of New Comedy, Paramount Comedy
Chris Hancox – VP Marketing and Creative Services, Paramount Comedy
JoAnn Grigioni – Director Talent, Comedy Central
Christina Lee – Coordinator Development, Comedy Central
Andrew Pulver – Film Editor, The Guardian
Eliza Williams – Writer, Creative Review
Andi Granger – Creative Director, Sky One
Richard Holman – Creative Director, devilfish


Some more great news is that this year the biggest comedy channel in the US, Comedy Central is also along for the ride. This means double exposure on both sides of the pond for the winner and shortlist as Paramount Comedy will show the shortlist on air, and Heads of New Talent and Commissioning from both channels will be on the judging panel. There is a real opportunity here for new talent to get their big break. Last year’s winners went on to get a ten part series commissioned by Paramount Comedy and other participants had their work licensed by the channel.

This year’s theme is WORK, and films can be no longer than 5 minutes. Use your wit and artistic license to interpret the theme, e.g. a piece of work, a work of art or simply someone who is work shy, the only criteria is that is that is has to make our esteemed judging panel laugh.

For more info, and how to enter go to www.thesmalls.com/comedy

What if you could show your short film in 211 cinemas across the UK? How about if you could win up to £30,000 to then realize your next film? With Virgin Media Shorts you can.

Brought to you by Virgin Media, this is an exciting opportunity to boost your film-making career with the support of one of the UK's leading entertainment brands and supporters of new talent. Imagine seeing your short film broadcast to millions of people; online, on TV and via the mobile internet – and shown on 211 cinema screens across the UK for a whole year. You will also have the chance to win up to £30,000 towards your next film, and the opportunity to work on this production together with the UK Film Council and Virgin Media.

To learn more about Virgin Media Shorts and how to enter go to www.virginmediashorts.co.uk.

Since THE CAN premiered in November of 2007, there has been one thing that has eluded your humble host.  Not great short films – we’ve had those in spades.  And as you can see from the photos, it’s not a healthy audience – from newbies to regulars who have been there from the start, we’re always graced with a devoted crowd of film lovers.  No, what has been the only uphill battle for THE CAN is so simple and unexpected – the delicious mini burger at the White Rabbit bar.

But that changed last night. 

In the middle of the program of six films, Nobi was able to sample the heavenly little patties that have graced the plates of our guests for months.  Boy, was it worth the wait.  And he thinks many people will be relieved that he might finally stop whining about wanting one as he introduces the films, which were absolutely incredible last night. 

From rooftops in the East Village of NYC to rooftops in the Middle East, the locations and subjects the films covered were wide ranging.  And the talent, from teams of the best animators from France to directing teams from the UK showcased the best from across the Atlantic.  If you missed the event, we’ll be posting some of the films up on The Smalls – be sure to keep visiting THE CAN page for more updates!

Now we’ll be taking the month of May off, but will return strong in June, hopefully with news about The Comedy Smalls Competition.  Remember to submit your short film by May 31st (for more info, click here).

Thank you everyone, and see you soon.

Hugs,
The Can

Our April Lineup was:

Queen Lear – James Spence
Burning Safari - Vincent Aupetit; Maxime Maleo; Aurelian Predal; Florent de la Taille; Claude-William Trebutien; Jeanne Irzenski
Round Zero - Mathieu Vig; Barth Maunoury; Vincent Devay
Heavy Metal Drummer - Toby Macdonald and Luke Morris
Roof Sex - PES
A – Marco Puig

THE CAN is back on April 29th!!

Hey everyone - we're very excited about this month's roster for The Can - come by the White Rabbit on the Lower East Side for some food, folks, and fun.

White Rabbit
145 East Houston St.
New York City

8PM

See you there!

One of our members posted his famous Toxic Corp commercial for INPES, under the REELS section here at The Smalls. It’s the most downloaded French commercial worldwide. We know this talented director is also behind the great “Forklift Driver Klaus” shorts, and hope to see these here at The Smalls sometime soon. REEL good stuff. Check out Toxic Corps here...