Bollywood Film Festival Goes Online

An online centre for South Asian entertainment, has launched the first ever South Asian online independent film festival.
The www.bollywood.tv initiative is focused on content that is specifically Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan in language, theme or flavor – and is called the Bindies.
To celebrate the spirit of the independent filmmaker, the website will premiere content with a South Asian twist on a dedicated Bindies Film Festival section.
Films can be streamed and downloaded at no cost to the filmmaker.
The festival will give access to buyers, agents and distributors all online and host a voting poll providing viewers across the globe the chance to support their favourite films.
The Bindies will commence with a virtual red carpet ceremony for films in competition and awards and prizes for the most gifted independent filmmaker in each category.
The Festival offers budding filmmakers the opportunity to have their films seen and showcased on bollywood.tv for global exposure without requiring a studio or distributor contract.
With an average number of one million hits per month, bollywood.tv is quickly securing the largest online movie subscriber base in the world and evolving into the number one site for Bollywood and independent South Asian films.
As part of The Bindies online film festival, entries are welcomed for: Short Films (3 minutes - 59 minutes duration); Features (60 minutes and over); and Animation 2D or 3D, claymation and puppets (in short or feature format).
The website will carry all the costs in uploading, hosting and streaming the film.
Closing date for entries is 15th August 2008, with the Festival Launch Date on 1st September 2008.
The Chief Executive Officer of bollywood.tv, Nigel Glynn-Davies, commented: "We are celebrating the wealth of talent that exists among the pool of indie filmmakers, whose films reflect a South Asian experience or sensibility, and provide a platform to showcase their innovative and highly original talents, where they may otherwise have not been able to do so.
"With the launch of The Bindies, we are demonstrating that filmmakers do not need a distributor on board to get their films out there. We are showcasing their work beyond financial and logistical restraints to ensure their art form receives the exposure it deserves.
"The awards ceremony will reflect the people’s preferences and choices as awards will be presented according to votes placed by visitors to the site," he concluded.
(BMcC)