Of course, this film was always destined to be a success as me and Minako are in it. We spent the whole of a hot summers day inside St George's Hall while they filmed a very short sequence of us pretending to enjoy the music. That half-second that we appear on screen really makes a difference I think.

A FILM commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company and Biennial visual arts festival has been short-listed for a prestigious award.

Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy from desperate optimists, makers of the film, are now keeping their fingers firmly crossed for the announcement of the ‘Short Tiger’ awards as part of the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The shortlist consists of just 27 films selected from hundreds of submissions.

‘Daydream’, the 29-minute film was made to celebrate the work of the Creative Communities ‘Around the City in 80 Days’ programme, which consists of 80 projects in the neighbourhoods of Liverpool in 2005/6. The film was supported by Liverpool Biennial in 2006 plus the Liverpool Culture Company (supported by the Millennium Commission’s Urban Cultural Programme) and involved 150 local people.

Co-Director Joe Lawlor said: “The nominees are among the most impressive short films made from around the world and we are proud to announce that Daydream is part of this company.�

The story tells of a community of people who are all under going various forms of change, emotional or psychological, the scenes include a rehearsal in a village hall with a local youth orchestra; a rock band’s performance which brings about a strange misfortune, and a woman meeting for the very first time the stranger who found her abandoned as a baby at that very site. Meanwhile, three teenagers have lost their way in the woods, and after extensive attempts are underway to find them, they begin to reflect upon their situation and have their fortunes told by twins living in the deepest part of the woods.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam runs from 24 January 2007 – 4 February 2007 and is in its 36th year. The Short Tiger competition features entries from countries as diverse as America, Turkey and Malaysia.

For further information please visit: http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/default.aspx?liso=en-US

http://www.desperateoptimists.com/daydream/index.html