On Screen Manitoba

Rock Paper Scissors directed by Jamie Cussen and produced by William Beauchamp from Toronto, ON is the latest winner of the $2,500 A&E Short Filmmakers Award in the NSI Online Short Film Festival run by the National Screen Institute – (NSI).

Comedy Rock Paper Scissors is set in the orange groves of Florida and follows three nine-year-olds as they embark on a quest for beer and cigarettes to trade for ‘sex’ with some older girls.

Jury members had this to say about the film:

E. Jane Thompson: In addition to the extraordinary heat the cinematography gives off and the film’s unusual setting of Floridian orange groves, I admire the thematic ambition of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The film lived on in me long after I’d screened it.

Ryan Hanson: Beautifully crafted and visually engaging, Rock, Paper, Scissors creates a world rich with character. A great coming-of-age film rich with humour that captures the innocence of that awkward pre-teen phase we’ve all experienced.

John Dippong: This film beautifully captured the naivety, bravado and innocent sexual confusion of childhood. It delivers a humorous yet poignant slice of life that should resonate with anyone over the age of 12.

On receiving news of the award, Jamie Cussen and William Beauchamp said, “Enormous thanks to the National Screen Institute for providing such an innovative arena for Canadian short films to be seen!

Find the rest of the news article and view the Rock Paper Scissors HERE.