CICLOPE 2017 Shortlist Revealed

International craft festival CICLOPE has revealed the films which will be competing for its distinctive one-eyed trophies later this month. 

Now in its eighth installment, the two-day festival celebrates the art of execution in moving images and is set to take place at Berlin's Kino International from 26-27 October. The shortlist, which spans five categories, was selected by a jury of top international producers and creatives from a total of more than 1,000 entries.

In the Branded Content (short form) category, it comes as no surprise to find Jose Cuervo Last Days [below], John Lewis Buster the Boxer and Samsung Ostrich among the finalists. 

In the long-form Branded Content category, veteran director Wes Anderson's Christmas ad for H&M, Come Together, is up against rising star Kibwe Tavares' short film, Robot & Scarecrow, while the shortlisted Music Video entries include The Blaze Territory (which bagged the Film Craft Grand Prix at Cannes Lions this year), Young Thug Wyclef Jean [below] and the excellent animated promo for JAY-Z's The Story of OJ.

Gucci dominates the Fashion Film section with three films, and Bacardi's ingenious Instagram hack Instant DJ is among the Digital Craft finalists - though the VR categories are still to be announced.  

Casting their critical eyes over the shortlist will be an executive jury of industry stalwarts including Robert Campbell, founder, Outsider; Tanya LeSieur, head of production at MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER; Matt Factor, president, Skunk; Rattling Stick director Sara Dunlop and Adrian Belina, partner/ECD, Jam3.

All finalists will be screened over the course of the festival, with the eventual winners being announced at the awards ceremony on October 27, rounding off two days of talks, panel discussions and presentations from the likes of Tom Kuntz, Noam Murro and award-winning production designer Hannah Beachler, which promise to delve deep into the craft of filmmaking. 

Click here to view the 2017 shortlist in full.