WINNER OF THE NINTENDO AND BFI COMPETITION

A VISION IN 3D ANNOUNCED – SHORT 3D FILM TO SCREEN

BEFORE THE NINTENDO GALA PREMIERE

AT THE 56 ^th BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL!

Nintendo and the BFI, both committed to finding and nurturing the best new British film talent, are thrilled to announce Nicholas Pratt as the winner of A Vision in 3D , a nation-wide competition, inviting emerging filmmakers to submit a short 3D film, using the wide range of filming modes on the Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL.

Supported by Ridley Scott and focused around the theme of ‘ British Summer 2012’, the winning short film will be premiered before the Nintendo Gala UK Premiere of The Sapphires on Monday 15 October, 6pm, at Odeon West End at the BFI London Film Festival (10 – 21 October 2012) in partnership with American Express®. Feel-good comedy The Sapphires charts the fortunes of a larger than life female soul band, and stars Chris O’Dowd ( Bridesmaids).

20 year-old Nicholas Pratt, a student of Japanese at London’s SOAS says, “I’m really excited to have this opportunity to get involved in the film industry! It will be incredible to watch the film on the big screen with an audience and walk the red carpet – I’m pinching myself here!“

Pratt has been mentored by AV innovator Stuart Warren-Hill and director Asif Kapadia and following his winning submission, has been shooting his new short film for screening at the Nintendo Gala on location in London, in collaboration with Warren-Hill and a professional crew. Director of Photography Malcolm Hadley who has worked on Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and upcoming 3D opus Frankenweenie, (the BFI London Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala supported by American Express), has also been on hand to wave his magic wand over the stop-motion process.

The 3 runners-up in the competition are Tom Rule, Jamie Mitchell and Charlie Doran. Each receives a pair of tickets to the BFI London Film Festival and a BFI Membership for one year.

All four films can be viewed on the Nintendo 3DS XL pods at the BFI Southbank from early October and will be available to watch on Nintendo 3DS XL consoles from 31st October - 21st November.

Nintendo 3DS XL and the BFI present A Vision in 3D offers an incredible introduction to the film industry for the next generation of UK film talent.

Award-winning director, Ridley Scott said: “Digital and 3D filmmaking is within the grasp of everyone these days. I’m excited by all the skill and talent that’s emerging in the UK, telling stories in different ways and it’s vital that it gets our support. This competition launched by the BFI and Nintendo opens up a big opportunity for emerging filmmakers to make their mark and they should grab it with both hands. I can’t wait to see the results.”

Clare Stewart, BFI London Film Festival Director and Head of Exhibition added, “The BFI London Film Festival is thrilled to be working with Nintendo on this innovative new partnership that provides an opportunity for emerging filmmaking talent to be mentored in 3D filmmaking and we look forward to showcasing the winning film at the festival this October.”

A Vision in 3D is supported by competition figurehead Ridley Scott ( Prometheus, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and entries were judged by an expert panel that included competition mentors Stuart Warren-Hill – an AV artist and innovator in the field of electronic music and visual media, founder of Hexstatic, Holotronica and co-founder of the Big Chill - and Asif Kapadia, director of hit documentary Senna.

In addition to this competition and as part of their wider cultural partnership, Nintendo and the BFI are working together on a number of new 3D content projects, details of which will continue to be announced.

Participant Biographies:

Figurehead, Ridley Scott

Renowned, Academy Award®-nominated director Ridley Scott has been honoured with Academy Award® nominations for Best Director for his work on Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and Thelma & Louise.  All three films also earned him DGA Award nominations.  Scott most recently released the acclaimed smash hit Prometheus starring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron.  Currently he is in production on The Counselor, written by Cormac McCarthy and starring Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, and Javier Bardem. In 2003, Scott was awarded a knighthood from the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the arts.

Mentor, Asif Kapadia

BAFTA award winning Asif Kapadia is a British filmmaker and has directed numerous award-winning films, including  The Sheep Thief (1997),  The Warrior (2001), which won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film 2003 and  Senna (2010), which is the highest grossing British documentary of all time, and won BAFTA Awards for Best Documentary and Best Editing and the World Cinema Audience Award Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival 2011. 

Mentor, Stuart Warren-Hill

UK based Stuart Warren-Hill is an audiovisual artist and Innovator in the field of electronic music and visual media. Founder of Hexstatic, Holotronica and co founder of the Big Chill, Stuart has been pushing AV boundaries since the early 1990’s. He has collaborated Coldcut, David Byrne, Faithless and George Michael. You can find out more about Holotronica and Hexstatic at www.holotronica.com and www.hexstatic.tv

For further press information, please contact John Dunning or Hilary Cornwell at Margaret: firstname@margaretlondon.com / 0207 923 2861

About Nintendo:

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.9 billion video games and more than 630 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi™ XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance™, Super NES™, Nintendo® 64 and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™.  A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.

About the BFI

The BFI is the lead body for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:

• Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
• Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations
• Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK
• Investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work
• Promoting British film and talent to the world 
• Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences

The BFI London Film Festival   

BFI London Film Festival is an iconic international film festival that supports London’s position as the world’s leading creative city. It presents the best new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience. It provides career-enabling opportunities for British and international filmmakers through its industry and awards programmes.

For information about The Sapphires please contact Victoria Cox at Entertainment One on 020 7907 3773 or vcox@entertainmentonegroup.com