The Illinois Film Office is proud to present the winner of the first annual Shortcuts short film contest.  Congratulations to Larry Ziegelman for his short film “Check Please,” a darkly humorous portrayal of a family dinner gone awry.  The film was screened on Monday, October 20th as part of the Chicago International Film Festival shorts program.

Betsy Steinberg, Managing Director of the Illinois Film Office and Shortcuts winner Larry Ziegelman

Ziegelman, was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.  He attended Washington University and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Communications with an emphasis in Art Direction.  Ziegelman is now an Associate Creative Director at DDB Chicago.  He has received numerous awards for his Superbowl work, including Cannes Bronze Lion, two Cannes Finalist Certificates, the Yahoo! Big Idea Award, the London International Festival, and Adweek’s Best Commercials of February.

The 2009 Shortcuts short film contest will kick off in January 2009.  Check back then for more information.