How Does a Short Film Win an Oscar?
by Karen Pecota

Panel discussion presented by London Flair PR (London Flair Publicists & Public Relations is an international publicity company with offices in Los Angeles and London)

Making out my schedule for film watching at the 2023 HollyShorts Film Festival, I quickly glanced at the festival guide for an overview. Curious of the title, "How Does a Short Film Win an Oscar?” I marked my festival schedule with a highlighter pen and stars around the title, as this headline piqued my interest.

The panel moderator would be London Flair's publicist, Catherine Lyn Scott. Her guests would be Academy Award Winners and Oscar nominated filmmakers, Jamie Newman, Ben Proudfoot, Andrew Carlberg, and Chris Overton. My two thumbs went up! I exclaimed, "Yay!" I was ready to learn from the best.

London Flair PR has helped garner their clients with twenty-seven Oscar Nominations and six Academy Award wins in only eight years. The informative panel with host Catherine Lyn Scott was deemed to talk about their journey to success.

A fan of Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot since screening his short THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL and A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION, I was looking forward his insights. I was confident that all the panelists would share insightful advice, tips and stories for filmmakers by filmmakers adding their words of wisdom to the topic at hand.

Proudfoot announced that just the day prior, Lusia Mae (Lucy) Harris, the star of his documentary THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, along with her team were inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Proudfoot is drawn to stories about people whose incredible achievements have not been appropriately recognized. One of his latest is the story of Sally Schmitt in THE BEST CHEF IN THE WORLD. His short FORGIVING JOHNNY is showcased in this year's HollyShorts Festival.

Proudfoot wasn't sure what made a good Oscar winning film, but he did say that winners are most often about people, and a reason of excitement which surrounds that person. His dad was a lawyer, and Proudfoot often sees himself somewhat of the same for the person or their cause in a narrative he chooses to showcase.

Catherine says that an Oscar winner must have a good story, good cinematography and good acting. Two additional aspects for her are key: 1) must be engaging in the first minute of the film; and 2) if after watching the film, she can't stop thinking about it.

Andrew and Jamie share their experiences of taking chances, by filming stories they believed in and the encouragement to simply make the film.

The panelists strongly recommend filmmakers to attend film festivals because they are the beating heart in the industry, especially for short films. Connecting with other filmmakers from all departments over time will prove to be beneficial for developing their craft.

Catherine notes that there are a lot of rules to learn to be in Oscar contention and one must do the research to know the reason and purpose of these guidelines.

A big shout-out for publicists came from each panelist, noting their importance to a filmmaker’s portfolio. I was thrilled that the panelists did a bit of name dropping of those they whole heartedly appreciate and trust to support their craft. The names mentioned were among those my colleague, Kathryn Loggins and I also appreciate working with as press covering films. Their help is invaluable for our festival coverage. They humbly cater to all press, not just the big outlets.

Panel discussions at a festival are not to be taken lightly. Vital information presented to filmmakers is to encourage and motivate them to take the next step in their craft toward success. The golden nuggets shared are for the taking which has the potential to put one on a path where collaboration on an Oscar winning project can be one's destiny.