Film Fanatic: Samsung Announces Winners of 2021 Short & Sharp Mobile Film Festival

Samsung Singapore announced Veron Teng, 25, as the grand prize winner of Short & Sharp, its inaugural mobile festival. Teng, who is currently a producer and editor at Singapore-based production house It’s Like Depth, edged out 14 finalists to emerge eventual winner of the contest.

The Festival, which launched its call for entries earlier in February, aimed to discover new-age storytellers and content makers who are passionate in telling stories of our generation with any mobile phone. Participants had worked on short films built upon the theme “What the World Needs Now” – inspired by the new world we live, work and play in and where the pandemic has moved us to express our hope, joy, compassion and humanity in new ways.

Teng’s winning entry, titled “What the ‘World’ Needs Now” is a short story about a son who is a great advocate in helping the less fortunate. However, he is unaware of his mother’s struggles to make ends meet and accuses her of being uncompassionate during these times. 

Besides receiving a S$20,000 cash prize, Teng also received a Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, and will also earn an opportunity to shoot and co-create video content on the Galaxy range of devices for Samsung’s campaigns in 2022.

“It has been a thoroughly gratifying experience where I was able to unpack and unfold stories with full creative rein. To be able to tell a story solely through the power of a smartphone has been unique, and I’m truly grateful for this opportunity where I’ve been pushed to think out of the box. I look forward to co-creating content with Samsung for their upcoming campaigns, and to also see how I can further unleash my storytelling skills with their devices,” said Teng.

All finalist short films can be viewed on the Festival’s microsite here.

Following the success of the inaugural mobile film festival, Samsung will be establishing Short & Sharp as a multi-year programme to grow a community of storyteller and filmmakers in Singapore. Besides individuals with prior experience in the sector, the platform hopes to grow the interest of individuals who are passionate in the field of film and provide them with both accessible, and  best-in-class technology via its Galaxy range of products.

“We are pleased to have Short & Sharp as a platform to uncover and groom digital content creators, and I’m particularly amazed at the level of creativity and ingenuity our participants have brought to the room in partnership with our Festival Founders. The 2021 Festival may have ended, but we want to continue our efforts in igniting the passion amongst content creators to create meaningful and inspiring stories with our latest, top-of-class mobile technology features such as 8K video recording and hyper-fast 5G connectivity. We look forward to partnering with more creators in future Short & Sharp Mobile Film Festivals and empowering them with our Galaxy range of products to elevate their storytelling capabilities,” said Sarah Chua, Vice President, IT & Mobile, Samsung Electronics Singapore.  

All finalist short films can be viewed on the Festival’s microsite here. Short & Sharp is expected to return in 2022. To learn more about Short & Sharp, visit https://www.samsung.com/sg/short-and-sharp/