UK Film Council launches new mobile filmmaking competition

A pioneering filmmaking competition for filmmakers to use the latest mobile phone cameras and digital technology to 'shoot' a film, edit it, screen and stream it to audiences will take place as part of Screen International's Cinema Next conference on February 3.
The Cinema Next Mini-Movie Competition sets three filmmaking teams the task of using the latest mobile phone technology to produce short films, which will be completed, edited and screened at the conference in London.
The competition has been set up by the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund as part of its commitment to explore the benefits offered by digital technology in the making and showing of films.
Giving the competition an extra edge, the teams will begin making the films before the conference, but must incorporate footage shot during the conference into their films and edit the films on the day using the latest digital filmmaking packages and working up 'right to the wire'.
In addition, the filmmakers will use affordable and easily available hardware and software to produce and edit the films.
The completed films will be shown to an audience at the conference who will vote using an SMS voting system to choose the most interesting film. The films will also be streamed on the Screen International website (www.screendaily.com) where subscribers can also vote for their preferred film. On the same day, after the conference - which examines how digital technology will affect film production and distribution - the three films will be available to download onto Apple's video iPod from the Screen International website.
The filmmakers selected to take part in the competition are Richard Jobson, director of '16 Years of Alcohol and A Woman in Winter', Carol Morley, former BAFTA nominee and director of the highly acclaimed documentary 'The Alcohol Years', and Martin Percy, senior interactive filmmaker at BT, who creates interactive live action films delivered via broadband for organisations such as the British Film Institute, the National Theatre and the Tate.
(CD)