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LOS ANGELES, Calif., Runic Films and Little Empire Productions’ are proud to announce that Hashtag, our prescient science fiction short film, will continue its festival tour! Extending onto 4 continents, with 4 award wins, 14 nominations, and now 17 acceptances.

[This post has been updated with the most current information. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the last events of the tour have been postponed. We will update when we have dates! Stay safe out there!]

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a looming future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Gigi Edgley), the top online celebrity, finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”, and Simone Alex.

X lives the dream; she’s connected, adored, and instantly validated by her hundreds of millions of followers. The ultimate influencer, celebrities like her are all we watch, all we listen to, all we care about. Yet one thoughtless remark reveals how fragile the tower of public adoration really is.

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is an ambitious vision of our possible future in the tradition of classic science fiction storytelling. For more about the project, please visit https://runicfilms.com/hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jyotika Virmani
Runic Films
email
Ph: 747-245-5559

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LOS ANGELES, Calif., Runic Films and Little Empire Productions are incredibly honored to announce that Hashtag, our prescient science fiction short film, will go on tour this summer! With an excellent reception at the fantastic SCI-FI-LONDON in last week, we are embarking on a film festival tour now spanning 3-continents. Stay tuned as we update the following as more acceptances come in. We hope to see you out there!

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a looming future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Gigi Edgley), the top online celebrity, finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”, and Simone Alex.

X lives the dream; she’s connected, adored, and instantly validated by her hundreds of millions of followers. The ultimate influencer, celebrities like her are all we watch, all we listen to, all we care about. Yet one thoughtless remark reveals how fragile the tower of public adoration really is.

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is an ambitious vision of our possible future in the tradition of classic science fiction storytelling. For more about the project, please visit https://runicfilms.com/hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jyotika Virmani
Runic Films
email
Ph: 747-245-5559

###

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Runic Films and Little Empire Productions prescient science fiction short film, Hashtag, will screen as an official selection at the prestigious SCI-FI-LONDON film festival next week, MAY 18, 19, and 21st. SCI-FI-LONDON 2019 brings together the best science fiction and fantastic film from around the world. Hashtag will screen inside “Shorts Programme 3” at the Stratford Picturehouse. Director/co-writer Ben Alpi, and producer Jyotika Virmani will be on hand to enjoy the sci-fi-filled week. »tickets

Alpi says, “We were thrilled when SCI-FI-LONDON accepted Hashtag as an official selection. We often talk about the film as a conversation starter for social media issues and we’re really excited to expand the conversation with all the great cinemagoers and filmmakers at SCI-FI-LONDON.”

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a looming future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Gigi Edgley), the top online celebrity, finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”, and Simone Alex.

X lives the dream; she’s connected, adored, and instantly validated by her hundreds of millions of followers. The ultimate influencer, celebrities like her are all we watch, all we listen to, all we care about. Yet one thoughtless remark reveals how fragile the tower of public adoration really is.

SCI-FI-LONDON seeks avantgarde films that you may not see elsewhere in mainstream sci-fi film & television. Join us at our mind-bending, brain-fueling film festival. SCI-FI-LONDON tickets are available at https://sci-fi-london.com/production/shorts-programme-three/.

Virmani adds, “Louis Savy and his staff have shown a tremendous amount of dedication to sci-fi cinema and are very welcoming to independent filmmakers. Ben, Gigi, myself, all of us, could not be happier to be a part of SCI-FI-LONDON.”

The “Shorts Programme 3” screenings of Hashtag will take place in the evenings on 18, 19, and 21st of May 2019.

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is an ambitious vision of our possible future in the tradition of classic science fiction storytelling. For more about the project, please visit https://runicfilms.com/hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jyotika Virmani
Runic Films
email
Ph: 747-245-5559

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Runic Films and Little Empire Productions are proud to announce the UK premiere of Hashtag, their prescient science fiction short film, at the Sci-Fi Ball on 10 February 2019 at 1pm. The Sci-Fi Ball, a unique science fiction convention, celebrates its 25th year raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust from 8 10 February 2019 at the stunning Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton. Star Gigi Edgley, director/co-writer Ben Alpi, and producer Jyotika Virmani are attending the sci-fi-filled weekend and will hold a Q&A along with the premiere.

Alpi says, “Last month, I met the fantastic Sci-Fi Ball host Brett Jones and Anne Lindup, the founder and director of Sci-Fi Ball. It was great to meet them, Brett was a concept artist on Hashtag but we had only ever ‘met’ via video conference. I screened the film for them and I’m happy to say they really enjoyed it.”

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a looming future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Edgley), the top online celebrity, finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”, and Simone Alex.

X lives the dream she’s connected, adored, and instantly validated by her hundreds of millions of followers. The ultimate influencer, celebrities like her are all we watch, all we listen to, all we care about. Yet one thoughtless remark can reveal how fragile her tower of public adoration really is.

Lindup comments, “In our 25th year of raising money for charitable causes by celebrating sci-fi, we are delighted to offer our first UK premiere of such a remarkable science fiction short. Furthermore, it feels like we’re supporting our own family as Brett Jones worked on the film. Whilst we have a long history and association with sci-fi of the past, we are always looking to champion new futuristic tales that address vital issues of today.”

The Sci-Fi Ball is held at the Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton. Sci-Fi Ball tickets are available on https://scifiball.com/sfb-2019/tickets.

Alpi adds, “We are truly honored to be holding our UK premiere at the Sci-Fi Ball to help raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Its very special for Gigi, Jyotika, and I to be there and to share our film with such sophisticated sci-fi fans in person.”

The UK premiere will take place on Sunday 10 February 2019 at 1pm, the third day of the event, and afterward, special guests Gigi Edgley, Ben Alpi, and Jyotika Virmani will discuss their short film, its themes, and answer questions from attendees.

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is an ambitious vision of our possible future in the tradition of classic science fiction storytelling. For more about the project, please visit https://runicfilms.com//hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jyotika Virmani
Runic Films
email
Ph: 747-245-5559

###

JUST ANNOUNCED: Runic Films and Little Empire Productions are thrilled to announce the World Premiere of Hashtag at Dragon Con!

Accompanied by a panel with star, Gigi Edgley, director/co-writer, Ben Alpi, and producer, Jyotika Virmani, the Kickstarter-funded science fiction short film, Hashtag, will be seen by non-backers for the first time at Dragon Con, one of the largest pop-culture conventions in the US.

The panel is scheduled for Sunday, 2 September at 7pm in Hyatt Regency International Ballroom North.
Dragon Con is August 30 – September 3 in Atlanta, GA. For membership, please visit http://dragoncon.org/!

ABOUT DRAGON CON
Dragon Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions’ mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

Runic Films and Little Empire Productions are very happy to release the trailer for their short science fiction film Hashtag.

Hashtag is the latest film from director Ben Alpi. A thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Edgley), the top online celebrity finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, and Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”. Alpi co-wrote the script with Kevin Rubio and Jyotika Virmani produced the fifteen minute film.

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is currently in post-production. For more about the project, visit https://runicfilms.com//hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions’ mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Calif.,  Runic Films and Little Empire Productions are proud to announce their first Hashtag convention panel at Dragon Con, the premier pop culture convention held every American Labor Day weekend. Star Gigi Edgley, director/co-writer Ben Alpi, producer Jyotika Virmani will appear on the panel along with composer Joseph Terrana and editor Jeff Handy.

Hashtag is a thought-provoking short science fiction drama that examines a future where social media dominates our lives and “X” (Edgley), the top online celebrity finds the true cost of her popularity. The short film also stars Erryn Arkin, and Juliet Landau as the voice of “Te’a”. The panel is Saturday 2 September 2017 at 7pm at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, International Ballroom North. Dragon Con memberships are available on http://dragoncon.org.

At the panel, Gigi, Ben, and Jyotika will reveal how they met at Dragon Con and share their filmmaking journey and, with the help of Joseph and Jeff, will answer questions about fundraising, producing the film, post production, and visual effects. They will also premiere the trailer for the film, which has only ever been seen by members of the cast, crew, and Kickstarter Backers, and will explore the future of social media.

“I’d like to thank our team of tireless artists and craftspeople, including Joseph, for their work helping me put this trailer together,” says Alpi who continues post production on the film itself. “I’m really proud of the work we’re doing and am really glad to get to share a sample with the world.”

Edgley, who is also a co-producer on the project agrees, “I can’t wait to share the teaser! It’s sensational and I can’t think of a better place to premiere it than where it all began, at amazing Dragon Con.”

A co-production of Runic Films and Little Empire Productions, Hashtag is an ambitious vision of our future and that of social media. The short film is currently in post-production. For more about the project, visit https://runicfilms.com//hashtag.

ABOUT RUNIC FILMS
Runic Films is a Los Angeles-based film production and entertainment company developing original properties for film and television. Runic was founded in 2001 to return visual storytelling to its roots and uphold the traditions of myth and legend. Today, Runic Films harnesses cutting-edge technology and visual effects to create amazing worlds for dramatic tales grounded in humanity.

https://runicfilms.com/
@runicfilms
https://www.facebook.com/runicfilms

ABOUT LITTLE EMPIRE PRODUCTIONS
Little Empire Productions is the creative partnership of Gigi and Jake Edgley to create and promote music, comic books, and films that enlighten, intrigue, and rock your world. Spanning the Pacific between Australia and Los Angeles, Calif., Little Empire Productions’ mission is to create great art straight from the heart and soul.

Contact:
Robert Alpi
Runic Films
email
Ph: 810-771-8065

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Justin Richards of the British Computer Society talks to Ben Alpi from Runic Films and Andrew Dymond from Filmcell International about visual effects and the way that technology is shaping the film industry.

To learn more about the British Computer Society, visit http://www.bcs.org/

The Foundry has announced the winners of their first NUKE Non-Commercial competition! Many thanks to all who participated. Congratulations to the winners Salvatore Parigi, Ilan Fremder, Miguel Guerrero, Andi Novianto, and Madhuka Gunasekera! It has been a fantastic show of creativity and ingenuity. Contestants were tasked with creating a graphical interface for “X”, played by Gigi Edgley, of Runic Films’ forthcoming short science fiction film Hashtag. An exercise in using NUKE Non-Commercial, The Foundry released a non-commercial learning edition of their awarding winning NUKE software in April 2015. (Read our announcement back in July HERE.)

Check out the winning entries below and congratulate the winners in The Community forum.

Salvatore Parigi

Best Sequence 
The Foundry: Salvatore’s unique design and interaction between X and the HUD elements as well as the creative workflow and problem solving in the project scripts really impressed the judges. Salvatore took a different approach to the challenge and the result is a beautiful piece. Well done!

Ilan Fremder

Best Shot 
The Foundry: The judges felt that this shot was a very complete project demonstrating strong NUKE and compositing skill. Ilan’s project had one of the best organised node graphs and lots of great gizmos. Congratulations!

Miguel Guerrero

Best Sequence Runner-Up 
The Foundry: The beautiful color palette and thoughtful design made this sequence stand out. Miguel’s entry shows off his compositing skill as well as unique design aesthetic. Great work!

Andi Novianto

Best Shot Runner-Up 
The Foundry: Andi went above and beyond the brief, creating a range of animated HUD elements. The judges loved the surprise headgear in this shot. Good job!

Madhuka Gunasekera

Judges Pick 
The Foundry: This sequence wowed the judges who all loved the beautiful lighting and strong compositing, making this the clear choice for judges pick!

To see all of the great entries head over to The Foundry’s The Community forum.

Runic Films has teamed up with award-winning visual effects software company The Foundry in their NUKE Non-Commercial Summer Competition 2015. With over $40,000 in prizes, the competition challenges visual effects artists from around the world to use The Foundry’s new non-commercial version of their award-winning NUKE software to create the visual effects for a sequence of raw footage from Runic Films’ and Little Empire Production’s science fiction thriller Hashtag.

Hashtag stars Gigi Edgley (Farscape, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge) as “X”, the ultimate social media maven. In the film, X uses a new kind of computer interface. What kind you ask? That’s what the artists must create! “I have a defined concept of how X’s interface will work, but it will be great to see what other artists come up with,” says Ben Alpi, the director of the much anticipated short film. Ben added, “We’re thrilled to be a part of this contest.? NUKE is a fantastic product and we’re really happy to support the free version so more artists can learn it. Prizes in the competition include hardware, software, and subscriptions from The Foundry, Wacom, NVIDIA fxphd, and the Production COLLECTIVE for the winning sequence and/or shot.

As Hashtag moves to the visual effects stage of post production, part of their visual effects pipeline will include The Foundry’s NUKE, the world’s leading compositing software. NUKE, like many of The Foundry’s products, has been used in numerous feature films, television series, music videos, and commercials. Some major examples include Pacific Rim, Star Trek, The Hobbit trilogy and Oscar winners Lincoln, Gravity and Life of Pi. Further, every film since 2008 that’s been nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar has used The Foundry’s software, particularly NUKE. In television, examples include Once Upon A Time, Falling Skies, and Emmy winning series Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones.

But what is compositing? “Compositing is cutting out and putting together two or more images to make a single image,” says Deke Kincaid, the Visual Effects Supervisor of Hashtag. “Placing a hand painted matte painting of a deep canyon under “Luke” in Star Wars, or a digital dinosaur into a scene in Jurassic Park, that’s compositing.” Deke is also Media and Entertainment OEM Development Manager for The Foundry. “When they told me they were looking for footage to use as the basis for the NUKE non-commercial competition, I knew Hashtag would be a perfect fit.”

Hashtag was funded by a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in December 2014 with the film quickly going into production the following February. The Backers of the project got news of the contest, and of the release of several seconds of raw Hashtag footage, on the day it launched. Backers enjoyed getting a first glimpse although one Backer @Ulathar Tweeted, “Teasing us with a 10 seconds clip has me convinced that @JyovianStorm [producer Jyotika Virmani] is evil and enjoys torturing backers.” Jyotika replies, “Our Backers are great, and obviously funny! I know the Backers are waiting for more, but I was super excited to be able to share even this. It shows the Backers a rare insight into the complex movie-making process.”

“Deke reports that 500 contestants downloaded the content for the contest on the first day. That’s great!” added Ben. “We hope there are many more.” Runic Films will not use competition submissions directly in the final film, the footage from Hashtag is only intended as the foundation of the contest.

The NUKE Non-Commercial Summer Competition 2015 is going on now and with a deadline of 15 September 2015 at 11:59 PM (PDT). Entries will be judged by an expert team with winners for the best sequence and best shot. To take part in the competition, artists enter here: https://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/nuke/non-commercial/nuke-non-commercial-competition-2015/

[Edit: NVIDIA joined the competition bringing the prize total increased from $34,000 to over $40,000.]