- Sundance Institute & GSMA Unveil 'Made for Mobile' Short Films at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 12 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Today, at a press conference at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Sundance Institute and the GSM Association (GSMA) unveiled the five original 'made for mobile' short films commissioned as part of the Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project. In one of the first collaborations of its kind, six new and established independent filmmakers created short films designed to be viewed in a mobile environment.
Announced in November 2006 by Robert Redford, Founder and President of Sundance Institute, the Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project was created to showcase and extend the reach of the independent short film genre to mobile users worldwide.
The five films are being shown exclusively at the GSMA's Congress this week with wide distribution to mobile audiences beginning February 15. Visit www.sundance.org/globalshortfilms for info on how to access these five original shorts for your mobile phone, and share them with your friends.
"We hope that the Global Short Film project inspires filmmakers and artists to think outside of the realm of traditional venues for cinema, and experiment with mobile as an intimate new avenue - with global potential - for their work," said John Cooper, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival and Creative Director for Sundance Institute.
"I believe mobile viewers will be surprised and delighted by the diversity of these films," said Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer at the GSMA. "Ranging from the comic to exquisite, the radically different creative styles of storytelling play extraordinarily well to the unique, viral nature of the mobile medium."
The Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project films are:
A SLIP IN TIME (Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)-A motion study of slapstick comedy.
LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD (Directed by Jody Hill)-A corporate worker calls in sick. In his quest to liberate himself from the daily grind he embarks on a quest for freedom by learning how to skateboard.
iLA REVOLUCION DE IGUODALA! (Directed by Justin Lin)-iLa Revolucion de Iguodala! tracks one man's passionate message as it travels through various forms and agendas.
LOS VIAJES DE KING TINY (Directed by Maria Maggenti)-LOS VIAJES DE KING TINY is about a small dog who takes off by himself while his owner is at work. Set in Los Angeles, King Tiny travels the city but is confronted by his own personal demons in the process.
RENO (Directed by Cory McAbee) -A singing cowboy brags about his travels through Nevada on a Honda 50 to a store security camera.
All the directors behind these shorts have previously screened films at the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Among the films premiered today is A SLIP IN TIME, the first film from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris since LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, which is nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars.
"When we heard that this was for a true international audience we really looked back to a time when film was more international, said Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. "In the silent era, you were a film star not in America or in Europe, but worldwide. It was truly language-free. We thought it would be interesting to go back to that time when film was more purely visual."
While mobile phones have previously been used for distribution of franchised cinematic, 'mobisodes' or user generated content, the Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project is the first time that the highest calibre of independent filmmaking talent has directed specifically for the mobile phone.
The Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project is sponsored by Roamware and NXP Semiconductors, the newly independent semiconductor company founded by Philips.
Notes for Editors:
How to see the films at the 3GSM World Congress:
Visitors to the 3GSM World Congress: visit The Sundance Institute stand (C42 Hall 7) in the Mobile Entertainment Hall, the Roamware stand (D47 Hall 7) and NXP Semiconductors (B110 Hall 8).
All six filmmakers will be available for interviews at the Sundance stand at set times throughout the Congress. To request interviews, please contact Patrick_hubley@sundance.org
At the close of the 3GSM World Congress: The five films are being shown exclusively at the GSMA's Congress this week with wide distribution to mobile audiences beginning February 15. Visit www.sundance.org/globalshortfilms for info on how to access these five original shorts for your mobile phone, and share them with your friends.
