GLOBAL – Arm eight filmmakers with two Nokia N8s each, a $5,000 budget and ask them to produce a short film within a few weeks and what do you get? A bunch of amazing mini-movies, that’s what. However, there can only be one that wins the top prize of $10,000 USD. That award goes to JW Griffiths, for his movie – Splitscreen. You can see it below.

Love. It’s been the subject of many a movie since the dawn of, well, movies. Splitscreen is about two people falling in love who come from different parts of the world. Using two perspectives at once on the same screen, we’re able to follow each person’s journey through life as they embark on a journey to foreign lands, only to bump into each other half-way across the River Thames on Golden Jubilee Bridge.

Here’s the winning short film, Splitscreen:

To find a winning film, Nokia teamed up with video sharing site Vimeo, which has seen the two companies searching for top-quality movie-making talent for the past four months. After being shortlisted from thousands of filmmakers, JW Griffiths and seven other entrants showcased their production at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in front of film industry experts and devoted movie fans, where a jury had to pick the winning production.

It was down to the Nokia Shorts 2011 jury to select the winning entry. Which included: Oscar winner and CEO of digital advertising agency R/GA Bob Greenberg; and Director of short film “Rare Exports, Inc“, Jalmari Helander.

Nokia’s Vice President Marketing Creation, Steven Overman declared:

Every film submitted for the final of Nokia Shorts was exceptional but James’ movie about two people falling in love stood out. The objective of competition was to empower filmmakers from around the world with the amazing, high quality video capabilities of the Nokia N8 smartphone. We loved all eight films and it was very tough to choose a winner, and we hope creative people everywhere are as inspired by the results as we are

There were of course runners up in this competition, and they deserve some credit, too. Here they are.

• Pearls of Wisdom by Jason Van Genderen – Australia
  A unique, short documentary featuring ‘pearls of wisdom’ from homeless and displaced people
• The Adventures of a Cardboard Box by Temujin Doran – UK
  The escapades of one boy and his cardboard box – his own gateway to a million, fantasy adventures
• Dirt by Joseph Marcantonio – UK
  A post-apocalyptic cowboy film
• The Rider by Josh Brooks – USA
  A classic story with a twist set in the hills of Montana
• Thunk in Public by Ryan Maples – USA
  A comedy short on unfiltered thoughts, leading to awkward situations
• Homecoming by Teemu Nikki – Finland
  Humourous film featuring key props including salmon, knife and a pair of gloves
• Daniel by Aurora Fearnley – UK
  A drama fantasy about one person coming to terms with a special, mystery gift

Congratulations to everybody who took part. We’ve enjoyed watching all these short films. Have you?