Curious Film ‘Blue’ wins Critics Week Canal Plus Grand Prix for best short at Cannes Film Festival

May 20 2011, 11:27 am | BY Lynchy | 7 Comments

Screen shot 2011-05-20 at 11.24.19 AM.jpgLast night in Cannes, Kiwi director Stephen Kang’s short film “Blue” won the Critics Week Canal Plus Grand Prix at the Cannes International Film Festival.

 

Kang was in Cannes to collect the award alongside Tara Riddell, producer at trans-Tasman production company Curious.

 

“It’s just unbelievable, I’m still shaking,” says Kang.

“We just won the Grand Prix,” says Riddell. “Surreal totally surreal.”

 

‘Blue’ was one of 10 short films selected to screen at the 50th LA SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE at Cannes Film Festival 2011 from 1,250 entries globally. It tells the story of a former mascot on a children’s TV show who struggles to hold down a job at an Asian restaurant.

 

Since 1962, La Semaine De La Critique (Critic’s Week) has run as part of the Cannes Film Festival, committed to its tradition of discovering new talents. It has unearthed directors like Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu (21 grams, Babel) and Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know).

 

“I’m tremendously proud – lost for words,” says Matt Noonan, executive producer at Curious. Noonan and Leanne Saunders also co-produced ‘Blue’.

 

The New Zealand Film Commission today congratulated Kang and his team, saying the award was a huge honour and validation of his directing talent.