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The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ HD channel will give a television première to a selection of short films on Saturday 21 November. The shorts will be shown back to back from 11.35pm.

Four of the films are independent productions identified by Film Network via the short film submission process on their website (bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork).

The remainder are the results of collaborative production schemes between various ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ departments, or via a project that partnered ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Films with the UK Film Council to support new British filmmaking.

All of the shorts were shot in various high definition formats, allowing them to be broadcast on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ HD channel.

As well as new talent, the films feature established actors including Maxine Peake, Jason Isaacs, Paul McGann, Tom Ellis and Bill Milner.

Danielle Nagler, Head of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ HD, said: "I'm delighted to have found this opportunity to showcase work from new directors from the UK. Their creative engagement in using HD shows us the huge potential HD can have for directors and viewers."

The films are:

Would Like To Meet
A single mum looks for love in the lonely hearts pages. Unbeknown to her, someone has decided to play Cupid - her eight-year-old son. His methods, however, are somewhat unorthodox. He contrives a series of domestic accidents in the hope of luring an appropriate boyfriend for his mum.

Pop Art
A year after his mother's death, Toby is in limbo and angry about it, but he's still just a kid at school. Into his life comes Art, who shares a different outlook on life.

Round
Shot entirely using hand shadow performance, this short film highlights man's position as a footnote in the Earth's very long story. Music by XX Teens.

The Rain Horse
A father takes his two young children on holiday to Wales, where they are attacked by a wild horse in the torrential rain. Adapted from Ted Hughes' short story, The Rain Horse.

Missed
Will is shocked when he's told that his colleague Emma has died whilst on holiday. The next day he's even more surprised when he sees her walking past the window of the cafe in which he is sitting.

Fables Of Forgotten Things
A mysterious drifter and his young friend must save an old lady from a memory-eating ghost.

I Stood Up
Giving up your seat on your daily commute to somebody who is less able is seen as common courtesy. But what if this simple act becomes a matter of life and death?

This Way Up (previously shown on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three)
An Oscar-nominated British animation in which two funeral directors go on a hellish journey trying to bury a woman's coffin.

Notes to Editors

Maxine Peake and Tom Ellis appear in Would Like To Meet
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Paul McGannÌýappears in Fables Of Forgotten Things
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Jason Isaacs appears in The Rain Horse
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Bill Milner appears in Pop Art

NC