Craig Anthony Perkins on the set of The Haunting at Danford Cabin, Grand Prize winner in the third iPhone Film Festival

• Genshi Media Group announced overall winners with stop-motion short

• Organisers planning ‘something huge’ for IFF4

Launched under two years ago, the first iPhone Film Festival (IFF) was held in April 2011, followed by a second last October. The third iPhone Film Festival (IFF3) wrapped at the weekend when the results were announced on the IFF website.

Winner of the Grand Prize and Animation category was stop-motion short The Haunting at Danford Cabin by Portland-based Genshi Media Group.

Winging its way up to Oregon will be over $3,500 in gear and services including $2,000 of studio services at Hollywood Post Production House Filmlook.

Genshi Media Group is Craig Anthony Perkins and Debora Jo Myers-Sunflower. On hearing the news, Jo Myers posted a message on her Facebook page, celebrating their win:

“Thank you Craig and thank you Ruben Kazantsev and Renáta Rinyu!! Thank you to all our friends that helped and supported us and Thank you Mom and Dad for all your support, Love and Patience and for believing in us! “

Best Film award went to SYNC by Alberto Corral, a clever love story filmed backwards with a soundtrack from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

The band All The Pretty Cars walked away with Best Music Video for Killing Time, a stop-motion paper animated music video filmed, animated, edited and mixed exclusively on an iPhone 4 “with lots of construction paper and patience”. It paid off guys.

Zsolt Haraszti followed up his award-winning Yearlapse ‘10 with another fantastic example of this type of filmmaking by winning the Best Cinematography award for  Yearlapse ‚ ‘11 | NYC to London: a  full year condensed into 365 seconds!

“When we started IFF our biggest concern was getting enough films to compete, now at IFF3 our biggest concern is we can only award one first place winner,” says Ruben Kazantsev, whoco-foundedthe festival with his partner Renáta Rinyu.

“We are glad we were not apart of the judging, since it would have been one of the  hardest decisions even made. There was amazing films in every category —  how do you pick one winner among winners?”

As more filmmakers adopt the iPhone as a bona-fide camera, online festivals have sprung up to showcase their work. Not only was the iPhone Film Festival the first on the scene, along with the ollehfilmfestival in South Korea (now partners of the IFF), it is also the most consistent in terms of both quality and frequency.

Kazantsev talks about a family of filmmakers, sponsors, and judges (of which I am one) and it is this factor that sets apart the IFF from similar festivals.

“Our success,” says Kazantsev,  is a direct result of our passion for the filmmakers, not focusing on the number of FB fans we get or the number of visitors we have. We know most of our winners on a first name bases, and we go out of our way to push them to succeeded. This is the reason they continue to make amazing films year after year.”

It is also a reason why the iPhone Film Festival is seen as the premier online festival for iPhone filmmakers, despite various attempts to copy the name and formula.

As he sign offs the winners’ prizes for dispatch, Kazantsev and Rinyu are already looking ahead to IFF4.

While sticking to the same winning formula, Kazantsev says they have “something huge in the works for spring 2013″, and will be announcing details shortly.

For now though it’s thoughts of a vacation in Hungary and a well-earnedbreakfor the couple. Although with films being submitted for IFF4 the minute IFF3 closed there won’t be much time for a holiday.

⚫ Full list of prizes

⚫ Runners up

• Genshi Media Group announced overall winners with stop-motion short • Organisers planning ‘something huge’ for IFF4 Launched under two years ago, the first iPhone Film Festival (IFF) was held in April 2011,...