FILM CONTEST: Current TV

Official Website:

http://www.current.tv/ecospot

YOUR MISSION
Make a :15, :30 or :60 second ecospot about:
TAKING ACTION:
Showcase how you, or someone you know, is taking action to alleviate
the climate crisis in their own small or big way
OR...
MOTIVATING CHANGE:
Create an original, persuasive message that will open eyes, inspire
change and empower your audience

Ecospot guidelines:
* Make it powerful: make your viewers think and inspire them to act
* Start from scratch, or use the videos and music tracks below
* For inspiration and more information, visit the Alliance's website

Must haves:
* You need to include the endtag at the end of your video.
Download it here
* Your ecospot should be exactly :15, :30 or :60 seconds including
the :05 endtag

Contest only open to US, UK and Republic of Ireland residents.
Judges choose the 20 semi-finalists.
You choose the winners.
Judges include highly committed environmental activists as well as
individuals who are just getting involved and want to help the cause.

PAID: Make Film Spoofs for Zaazz.tv

et Paid To Make Spoofs!

In preparation for its launch, Zaazz.tv will pay filmmakers $200 to
create short 2 - 5 minute movie spoofs of upcoming fall films. The
site launches in mid-September so spoofs must be completed by
September 14th. After the site has launched submit spoofs of upcoming
films and be automatically entered to win our weekly cash prizes
(given to the best spoof submitted each week).

If you are interested in being paid to create a spoof please email Mia
at [email protected]. Otherwise check out Zaazz.tv starting September 17th
and enter one of our competitions.

Upcoming movie's to spoof are:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
*Bank robberies, bowler hats, and brawls… what's not to like?!

Into The Wild
*Chris McCandless gives up all his possessions and hitchhikes to
Alaska after college. Alone. Feature at least one encounter with an
animal.

Resident Evil: Extinction
*Get in the sandbox because Resident Evil hits Sin City. Flesh-eating
zombies, a supercomputer, and an elite military force out to save the
world…

Across the Universe
*Cram in all the '60s nostalgia you can fit and mock baby boomers'
self-infatuation and the never-ending commercialization of flower
children. DON'T use a Beatles' song- branch out and create your own
parody version…

The Game Plan
*Tough guy dad takes in kid and learns to be sensitive, responsible.

The Kingdom
*Good-looking members of an elite FBI team head to Saudi Arabia to
investigate a bombing and promote cross-cultural sensitivity.

If you have a specific movie spoof idea of a movie not mentioned above
please email Mia to share your suggestion. We are open to all ideas!

GRANT: Women in Film & General Motors

Women In Film & General Motors Announce
2007 Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers

WIF/GM Alliance Mentoring Programs Provide Talented Women Pursuing
Careers in Entertainment With Creative Foundation for Success

To Obtain an Application, Visit www.women-in-film.com
Deadline Submission is Aug. 31. Winners to be Announced Oct. 10

LOS ANGELES – Aug. 21, 2007 – For Immediate Release – The national
alliance organization of Women In Film (WIF) and the General Motors
Corporation (GM) announce the second annual WIF/GM Acceleration Grant
for Emerging Filmmakers.

The 2007 WIF/GM Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers will again
be presented to five up-and-coming female filmmakers, chosen through
an application process overseen by a WIF selection committee comprised
of professional filmmakers and entertainment industry executives. The
grant will provide recipients with a broad-based understanding of the
business of filmmaking through a six-day, full-immersion mentoring
program, shepherded by WIF members, which include some of the
industry's most successful female talent.

In July, the WIF/GM Alliance also announced the second annual WIF/GM
Opening Doors/Abriendo Puertas: The Acceleration Grant for Emerging
Latina Filmmakers. Both grants, awarded each fall,
are projects of the WIF/GM Alliance, the goal of which is to support
talented filmmakers from Latina/Hispanic communities and other
under-represented groups. To date, including the recipients of this
year's grants, 20 up-and-coming women will have benefited from WIF/GM
Alliance mentoring grants.

"The exceptional women who have been chosen to participate in the
Women In Film/General Motors Alliance grant programs hail from diverse
communities from across the country," said Judith James, chair of the
WIF/GM Alliance. "The recipients of both grants have been clearly able
to successfully advance their careers as a result of WIF's commitment
to mentoring new talent, which in turn benefits our industry."

Said Pamela K. Johnson, Long Beach, Calif., a previous recipient of
the WIF/GM Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers, "The experience
got me inside the core of the filmmaking world and demystified the
process of how one goes about having a career in the industry. The
experience was eye opening and helped me to create a foundation and
set me on a course as an emerging filmmaker. It provided the insight
that allowed me to gain entry into the AFI director's program and
definitely changed my life."

Johnson is currently participating in the American Film Institute's
Directing Workshop for Women, where she is producing the short film
Stitches, a coming-of-age story about a stylish, young girl displaced
by Katrina. A graduate of Stanford University, a former west coast
editor of Essence magazine, a published novelist and a successful
playwright, Johnson's short, Talk Me to Death, earned her the
attention of the WIF/GM Alliance. About rampant cell phone use at a
funeral, it was also the recipient of the Best Editing and Audience
Awards at the 2006 Duke City Shootout in New Mexico. Johnson's novel
Santa and Pete was made into a 1999 TV movie which starred James Earl
Jones and Hume Cronyn. Her anthology Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending
Collection of Hair Stories was adapted into a musical stage play,
which drew sold-out audiences in Philadelphia and also played New York
in 2001 and 2002.

Added another past recipient, Shelley Niro, Brantford, Ontario,
Canada, "It gave me the knowledge and the confidence to move forward
and take my career to the next step. Meeting people in the industry
was really inspiring and important to my ongoing education. It was a
rich and enlightening experience that encompassed so many aspects of
filmmaking."

Niro is currently at work on a full-length dramatic film, Kissed By
Lightning. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Western
Ontario in 1997 and has participated in initiatives like the Women In
The Director's Chair Workshop at the Banff Centre for the Arts and,
most notably, the Sundance Producer's Conference in Park City, Utah.
Her film, The Shirt, was chosen to represent the Indian Arts Alliance
from New Mexico in 2003 at the Venice Biennale film festival before
going on to be screened at Sundance. It Starts With a Whisper was also
screened at Sundance. Her film Honey Moccasin took top honors,
including "Best Feature" and "Best Director," at the 1998 Red Earth
Film Festival. A Native-American, Niro is a member of the Six Nations
Reserve, Turtle Clan, Bay of Quinte Mohawk.

About the 2007 WIF/GM Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers:

This year's winners will be hosted by the WIF/GM Alliance Oct. 30 -
Nov. 7. Awardees will attend individual and group meetings with film
industry professionals who will review with them the national and
international aspects of finance, marketing, distribution and legal
subjects.

Additionally, they will meet as a group with a panel of studio
executives and distributors in film and television to discuss the
trends and criteria shaping the industry. They will also meet with one
or more international sales agents to discuss the current trends in
buying and selling product for the international market. And they will
receive full access badges to the American Film Market (AFM)* to
attend AFM seminars and conferences, Oct. 31 - Nov. 7.

"By providing the opportunity to network with professionals from all
aspects of the filmmaking industry," said James, "these grants provide
a creative foundation—a broad base of skills and knowledge of how to
turn ideas into reality."

Applications and entry guidelines for the 2007 Women In Film/General
Motors Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers can be obtained at
www.women-in-film.com. Complete rules, restrictions and instructions
are available online.

Entries must be postmarked no later than Aug. 31, 2007. A selection
committee comprised of WIF members will evaluate all applications.
Winning applicants will be notified by phone by Oct. 3, 2007 and
winners will be announced Oct. 10, 2007.

Applicants are required to submit:
• A typed, one-or-two page, double-spaced candidate's statement: Why
do you want to participate in the grant? What are your artistic and
career goals?
• One letter of recommendation from an industry professional.
• A resumé detailing work experience and education.
• A DVD sample of their work.
• Statement of warranty.
Submitted materials will not be returned.

Applicants must be female and have made at least one film, but not yet
be established in the industry. They should be at a point where
access to industry resources provided by the grant would be
instrumental in forwarding their career. And they must show evidence
of their commitment to pursuing a career in the film and/or television
industries. Applicants do not have to be WIF members. Those who have
won a WIF/GM filmmaker grant in the past are not eligible.

About the Women In Film/General Motors Alliance:

General Motors Corporation is the National Presenting Sponsor of Women
In Film. The Women In Film/General Motors Alliance was created to
support women in the entertainment industry and to expand Women In
Film chapter programs across the country. The multi-year initiative
was announced in Los Angeles in January 2005 and is supporting
programs as diverse as the Film Finishing Fund, Women's Film
Preservation Fund, Legacy Series, PSAs, scholarships, mentorships and
local WIF chapter award events across the nation. For more
information about the WIF/GM Alliance and its programs, visit
www.women-in-film.com.

Founded in 1973 in Los Angeles, Women In Film (www.wif.org) is the
leading non-profit organization dedicated to women in the global
entertainment industry. Its purpose is to empower, promote, nurture
and mentor women in the industry through a network of valuable
contacts, events, programs, workshops, finishing funds and
scholarships. In the U.S., there are chapters in Arizona, California
(3), Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas (2),
Washington and Washington, D.C. The international network, Women In
Film and Television International (www.wifti.org), of which WIF-Los
Angeles is a founding member, boasts 35 chapters on six continents.
Member chapters range from developing nations to countries with
established industries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, France,
India, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the
United Kingdom, to name a few.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has
been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in
1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With
global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in
33 countries. In 2006, 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold
globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC,
GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall.
GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety,
security and information services. More information on GM can be
found at www.gm.com.

# # #

* The American Film Market® and the Independent Film & Television
Alliance® are not affiliated with the WIF/GM Acceleration Grant for
Emerging Filmmakers.

Contacts:

WIF/GM Alliance
Vicki Greenleaf — Greenleaf & Associates — 323-660-5800 —
[email protected]

GM Communications
Christie Conti – 805-373-9527 – [email protected]

FESTIVAL: American Black Film Festival Call for Submissions

2007 AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES DATES AND CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Festival Relocates to Los Angeles

New York, NY, April 19, 2007 – Film Life's 11th annual American Black
Film Festival (ABFF) announced its 2007 dates: October 25-29. The
festival, which had been held for the past five years in South Beach,
Miami, has relocated to the West Coast with festival activities
centered in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. HBO® is the festival's
founding and title sponsor. 2007 marks HBO's tenth year of support.

Film submissions for consideration for the 2007 ABFF are being
accepted from now through July. Submission forms, deadlines and
eligibility criteria are available online at www.abff.com.

Founded in 1997, the mission of the festival is to strengthen the
Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education,
artistic collaboration and career development. Since its inception,
over 400 independent films have been screened, seventy per cent of
which have gone on to secure theatrical or DVD distribution. Festival
alumni include director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) and producers
Rob Hardy and Will Packer (Stomp the Yard), producer Roger M. Bobb
(Daddy's Little Girls) and writer/director Frank E. Flowers (Haven).
The ABFF was born out of the need to generate distribution
opportunities for independent Black films and promote cultural
diversity within the motion picture industry. It is widely considered
the premier Black film market. Festival attendance is expected to
exceed 5,000 people.

"The move to Los Angeles is an important part of the festival's
evolution. We intend to work more closely with the studios and create
a more potent marketplace for buyers and producers of independent
Black cinema. With the support of our corporate partners, led by HBO,
Lincoln and Allstate®, we will continue to facilitate distribution
opportunities for these films," said Jeff Friday, Founder/CEO of Film
Life, Inc.

In addition to its cinematic showcases, the ABFF nurtures artists in a
variety of disciplines offering workshops, a symposium and talk series
(Access ABFF), exclusive parties, high-level networking and signature
events including: ABFF Feature Panel Discussion, A Conversation With…,
and the HBO Short Film Competition.

"For the past ten years, HBO has proudly collaborated with the ABFF to
bring the best emerging Black filmmakers to the forefront," said
Olivia Smashum, executive vice president, Affiliate Marketing at HBO.
"In turn, with the financial support, industry recognition and respect
they receive at the festival, these talented filmmakers have emerged
further inspired to continue practicing their craft."

The ABFF's four film sections – Shorts, U. S. Features, International
Features and Documentaries – have been created to provide visibility
to new films. Filmmakers are recognized at the ABFF's Independent Film
Awards (Oct. 29) and rewarded with cash and other prizes. Through the
support of Film Life and a wide variety of corporate partners, the
American Black Film Festival continues with its mission to fortify the
Black filmmaking community, and make films by and about people of
color more accessible to mainstream audiences.

Sponsors aboard the 2007 ABFF include HBO (Founding & Title), Lincoln
and Allstate (Premier), Nokia, Blockbuster, Paper Denim & Cloth, VIBE,
Black Enterprise and Upscale (Official), Codeblack Entertainment,
Nickelodeon, UrbanWorks Entertainment, Uptown, Black Noir and the
Sofitel LA (Supporting).

Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary
of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour pay television services -
HBO and Cinemax - to over 40 million U.S. subscribers. The services
offer the most popular subscription video on demand products, HBO On
Demand and Cinemax On Demand, as well as multiplex channels and HD
feeds. Internationally the subscription video on demand products HBO
On Demand and HBO Mobile, along with branded joint ventures, bring HBO
services to over 50 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150
countries worldwide.

The ABFF, cofounded by Jeff Friday in 1997, is a property of Film
Life, Inc., a New York-based film marketing and distribution company.
Its mission is to spearhead the global distribution of quality Black
films and be the leading American brand producing Black movies,
television, events and digital content. Film Life's key properties
include the American Black Film Festival (abff.com); The Black Movie
Awards on TNT (blackmovieawards.com); and the ABFF DVD Series
(thefilmlife.com), a partnership with Warner Home Video.

Festival and registration information is available online
www.abff.com, via phone 212.966.2411,
ext. 400, or by e-mail: [email protected].

FILM FESTIVAL: Short Shorts Film Festival (Call for Entries)

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2008 Call For Entries!!

Greetings from the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Japan!
We are currently accepting submissions for our 10th annual festival,
which will kick off in Tokyo next June.

Over 7,000,000yen (Approx. US$60,000) cash prizes will be awarded in
three
categories: International, Asia International and Japan

The Grand Prix winning film will be eligible for the for the nominee
for the annual Academy Awards(r) in the short film category.

Post Mark deadline:　December 1st, 2008

Entry fee: NONE!

Sections: International Competition (non-Asian); Asian Competition;
Japanese Competition

Genres: All genres of shorts (fiction, animation, documentary,
experimental).
　　　　No music clips.

Terms of Entry: up to 25 minutes; Japanese premieres required;
produced since January 2006

For more information and to complete a submission form, please visit
our official website: http://www.shortshorts.org
(under "Festival Submission")

WE LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVING YOUR SUBMISSIONS!!!

Programming Department
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia

Looking for students to do short videos for on-line intercultural education program

AFS-USA (http://www.usa.afs.org/usa_en/home) is creating an
intercultural training module for our outbound participants that would
include three, 3 minute videos that would illustrate different
communication styles (direct/indirect, circular/linear,
attached/detached).

Our audience:
Teenagers participating in an exchange program. Age 15-18 with average
at age 17.

Our goals:
We are teaching the students about how cultures differ in ways they
might not think about and trying to help them notice when there is a
cultural difference since this is likely to have a bearing on their
relationships with people from the new culture. Our research showed us
that most of the students applying to our programs start out with the
believe that deep down people are all the same and that it's more
important to look at what we have in common than to think about how we
might be different. We are introducing "5 Frameworks of Culture"
(Milton Bennett) to help them know where to look for cultural
differences. Communication Style is one of these frameworks.

Time frame:
Production would take place in the fall of 07.

What we envision:
We would start the topic with an interactive rating where the students
could compare their responses to others who are also going abroad with
AFS:

What do we want to achieve when we communicate with someone else?
Which do you think is most important?
Convey information
Show how we feel about our relationship
Create a good impression
Convey respect for the other person
Reach agreement
Maintain harmony
Make the other person feel happy
Maintain the other person's interest
Make sure the other person is comfortable and not embarrassed by the
conversation.

Following their choice and review of others' choices, they would have
some explanation like:

"All these things may be important but some are more important in one
culture than another. Depending on which is most important, we use a
different style. When you are living in another culture, you may find
that people use a style of communication unfamiliar to you and you may
miss some of what they are trying to communicate."

At this point we'd want 3 short videos, each illustrating two very
contrasting communication styles. The videos should involve teenagers
and family life, or teenagers and school life, or teenagers with
friends. Each video would be followed with some activities on the web
site for the student to understand what he or she has just seen.

Budget Shoestring... A stipend is negotiable and would at least cover
production costs. We are a nonprofit and therefore looking for
creative ways to get this job done within a very tight budget.

For more information, please contact:
[email protected]

Can you use chromakey with video you shot with a webam? (Presuming you shot in front of some kind of greenscreen, of course.)

I am incredibly new to even shooting and editing, let alone chromakey. Actually, technically I have more chromakey experience than I do film experience, given that I was once a performer in a chromakey show in a theme park. But still.

I'm gearing up to do a sort of pop culture/entertainment commentary vlog. And I think it would be much nicer to have the background of my choice than it would to feature my hideously messy apartment. So I was wondering if I could get all fancy with the chromakey. But from what I've gleaned from the few chromakey posts I've skimmed here, resolution may be a stumbling block.

Do not be afraid of offending me by pointing out any assumptions I've made in this post that are idiotic. I'm very good at many things, and so am at peace about being a moron at a few things.

Any thoughts? Much thanks.

Governor Haley Barbour has
signed Senate Bill 2997 to provide additional and improved incentives
for the film industry. The bill was unanimously passed by the MississippiLegislature
during its 122nd Session. It is effective immediately.

“Mississippi has a long
history of cooperation and support for the film industry,”
Governor Barbour said. “This legislation will help us remain
competitive in the attraction of movie production to our state,
while also creating opportunities for Mississippi filmmakers.”

Under the new legislation,
rebate incentives offered to filmmakers will increase to 20 to 30%,
depending on the production’s local spend. The bill also creates
an additional 10% rebate on out-of-state worker wages. Although
no minimum spend is required, thelegislation caps the rebate at
$5 million for each individual project.

“In addition to increasing
the percentages of the rebate, we have streamlined the process,”
said Ward Emling, director of the Mississippi Film Office. “It’s
a very simple and straightforward transaction; and it’s a
pure rebate program: the State of Mississippireturns the rebate
directly to the production at the conclusion of their production
work in Mississippi.”

Over the last several years,
Mississippi has been the location for movies including “Cookie’s
Fortune,” “My Dog Skip,” “O Brother, Where
Art Thou?” and “A Time to Kill.” Recently, motion
pictures like “Walk the Line” and “Black Snake
Moan” have filmed in the state.

“Over the years, the
film industry has been supported by every community in Mississippi.
Across the state, we recognize the role it plays in expanding tourism
opportunities, creating economic impact, and raising awareness of
our great state,” said Craig Ray, director of the Mississippi
Division of Tourism.

For more information about
the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive program, please visit www.visitmississippi.org/film.