According to PRNewswire, Playboy Enterprises Inc., and Bombay Sapphire announce Tampa’s Andy Nguyen as the winner of the Playboy Shorts Series: Bombay Sapphire Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight, a nationwide contest which asked filmmakers (21+) from all backgrounds to create inventive, thought-provoking short films that ignite imagination and inspire self-expression among viewers. His winning film Boomerang—a thoughtful story about a man at war with himself for breaking up with a woman—will have the honor of being screened at a Playboy/Bombay Sapphire event during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, which will be hosted by actor Anthony Mackie.
After being unanimously revered by Talenthouse.com viewers, Nguyen was finally selected by a panel of experts in filmmaking as the inaugural winner of the Playboy Short Series: Bombay Sapphire Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight. The Tampa native and current Columbia University School of the Arts student beat out finalists from cities that included New York and Chicago. In addition to the film screening, Nguyen will receive a cash prize and the career-changing opportunity to be mentored by some of the film industry’s top professionals.
Long a patron of film and film preservation, Hugh Hefner has donated a significant amount of money and time to fostering cinematic expression, including the Hugh M. Hefner chair for the Study of American Film at University of Southern California. In addition, Hefner personally founded a course in Censorship in Cinema at the University of Southern California, for which he serves as a guest lecturer. He has also been a major contributor to UCLA’s project to restore classic films.
Bombay Sapphire Senior Brand Manager Richard McLeod adds, “Bombay Sapphire gin has a long history of commitment to the arts and a well-established identity within the creative community. It gives us such pleasure to be able to help provide a platform for new talent to gain the recognition that they deserve.”
Bombay Sapphire has been honored to support aspiring filmmakers, designers and artists over the past decade by unlocking their potential and sharing their imagination with the world. Last year Bombay Sapphire expanded upon its nine-year presence at Art Basel Miami by initiating the Artisan Series program, a nationwide search to identify the finest undiscovered talent in the field of visual arts.
