A film made by University of Hertfordshire students has been shortlisted for a short film award at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Idea Thief, which was directed by University of Hertfordshire postgraduate students Dani Alava and Juan Lozano, has been selected in the Short Film Corner of Festival de Cannes 2016, one of the most prestigious short film markets in the world.
The film uses the classic analogy of ideas as lightbulbs, telling the story of a burglar who owns an unusual pair of goggles which allow him to see people’s ideas floating in their heads.
He steals the ideas for his own benefit but his misdeeds end when he encounters a special child with a powerful and mysterious idea.
Dani said: “We are delighted that The Idea Thief has been selected in the Short Film Corner of Festival de Cannes.
“The film is a presentation of a concept where you can see inside people’s minds and manipulate ideas. As such it is open to several interpretations.
“Our collaboration on this assignment demonstrated how diverse backgrounds can come together to create a winning team.
“It also enabled us to show our strengths - whilst the original idea was mine, Juan helped me to develop it and create the characters as well as some of the visual references which form the basis of the film.
“With help and support from our tutors, we learnt all the animation workflows and are delighted with the final outcome.”
Dr Ian Willcock, programme leader of postgraduate media at the University of Hertfordshire School of Creative Arts, said: ‘The Idea Thief is exactly the sort of innovative project which we encourage our Masters’ students to produce.
“We are very proud that the quality of our graduates is increasingly being recognised internationally and that our focus on creativity and interdisciplinary working is helping postgraduate students from the School of Creative Arts to stand out and get noticed.”
The Idea Thief also received the 1st Jury Award in the Animation Category at the Sand Dune International Short Film Festival 2014 in India, and was selected in numerous other film festivals.
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