Chennai, May 23 (IANS): Following the success of the first edition of First Clap, a short film contest organised by Moviebuff to unearth budding filmmakers from Tamil Nadu, the plan is to go national with the second edition of the initiative next year.

Beginning December 16, 2016, more than 250 entries were received for Moviebuff's First Clap contest. Of these, 17 were shortlisted by judges.

The final five films were selected from public voting via screenings at local theatres supporting the contest as well as scores awarded by the panel of judges associated with the Tamil film industry.

"I am extremely happy for the finalists that they got to realise their dream of watching live audience reactions to their content at the theatres, and get invaluable feedback for them for their future efforts in filmmaking. This whole endeavour would not have been possible without the active support and encouragement of the esteemed theatre owners," Arvind Ranganathan, CEO of Qube Cinema Technologies, told IANS.

The initiative was organised in association with Qube Cinema Technologies.

"With the success of this initiative, the next edition of First Clap will be an all-India initiative and we hope to enhance the scope of assistance that Moviebuff will offer to budding filmmakers in the days to come," he added.

The winners of the contest took home cash award worth Rs. 650,000.

The winning short film "Ival Azhagu" by Vijay Ganapathy received cash prize of Rs 300,000.

The first runner-up and second runner-up short films, which include "Appa Lock" by Pradeep Ranganathan and "Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam" by Prabhu Jayaram, received cash awards of Rs 200,000 lakh and Rs 100,000 respectively.

The fourth and fifth winning short films - "Intha Naal Iniya Naal" by Magesh Balasubramaniam and "Think & Inka by Nattu Dev" - took home cash prize worth Rs 25,000 each.

For the top three winners of the contest, actor Suriya's production house 2D Entertainment is offering an internship.