Henco J from South Africa, Ivan Petukhov from Russia and Jessica Valentine from the US have been chosen by the short film competition, which gives up-and-coming film enthusiasts a real chance to break into the film industry. Following in the footsteps of Kevin Spacey and Willem Dafoe, this year the chosen three will be directing Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Uma Thurman in their unique short films, all with the backing and expertise of award-winning production company, Trigger Street Productions.
Henco's script, The Mundane Goddess, follows the story of Hera, queen of the Greek Gods, who seeks answers from a therapist about her boring home life. Ivan's film, The Gift, follows the character Miss Anderson, who works at the city department store wrapping gifts. Jessica's story, Jump!, is set during a 48-hour observation at a psychiatric facility, where Jack meets Wendy, a young woman with a unique obsession.
A rigorous judging process led by Trigger Street, had 20 contestants shortlisted to direct a short scene and submit a director's treatment before those with the most potential, and compelling scripts, were chosen. As in previous years, the competition's creative director, Kevin Spacey and producer, Dana Brunetti surprised the aspiring film makers with Skype calls to tell them they had won. You can see the reactions as Henco, Ivan and Jessica were told they had won on the Jameson YouTube channel.
Kevin Spacey, commented: "Every year the standard of entries seems to get higher and higher and the scripts submitted this year far exceeded our expectations again. Jameson First Shot has proven itself as a real opportunity for filmmakers to get that all important 'first shot' in the industry, and the success our previous winners have already experienced is testament to that. I can't wait to see the films that this year's winners will make; I know Uma is going to be phenomenal and together with the team at Trigger Street we will make another three exceptional films."
Dana Brunetti added: "I was very impressed with this year's entries and it feels like Jameson First Shot continues to go from strength to strength. We've had an incredible year at Trigger Street, so to be in this privileged position and to be able to share our collective knowledge, experience and our skills with these three writer/directors is a great honour. I'm looking forward to seeing them in LA and kicking off production for the third year of the competition."
For more information on the competition, go to www.jamesonfirstshot.com or go to youtube.com/jamesonwhiskey to follow the 2014 winners' journeys in the competition and to watch last year's winning films.
