Kaneva, pioneer of the world's first
digital entertainment marketplace, and Ideas United,
founders of Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world's
largest student movie-making events, have joined
forces to launch Independence MovieFest (iMF) at
www.independencemoviefest.com. iMF is the world's
first and only film festival to host all submitted
movies online - from shorts to full features - in
their entirety and in DVD quality. iMF is now
accepting submissions from filmmakers the world over.
"At Kaneva, our mission is to empower filmmakers to
connect directly with their audience," says
Christopher W. Klaus, founder and CEO of Kaneva, Inc.
"Kaneva provides the technological expertise that
makes it possible for filmmakers to easily upload
their work and immediately have a global audience. We
are thrilled to be launching Independence MovieFest
with our partners, Ideas United."
iMF leads a paradigm shift in the festival arena,
opening the doors to a virtually unlimited number of
filmmakers and empowering a global audience to
experience these films in DVD quality. iMF's unique
model also allows filmmakers to distribute their films
online through Kaneva's digital entertainment
marketplace - www.kaneva.com - once the iMF
concludes. Kaneva's open-acceptance policy,
competitive royalty structure, global market reach,
and non-exclusive representation make it an attractive
option for independent filmmakers and producers of a
variety of video content.
"For filmmakers, iMF provides a remarkable opportunity
for visibility, community, and artistic growth," says
David Roemer, CEO of Ideas United, LLC. "For film
fans, iMF offers access to potentially thousands of
films they would normally not be able to see. Viewers
also have a voice - they can influence which films
rise to the top and ultimately win awards at the
festival."
How the Festival Works:
Kaneva's unique publishing application, Kaneva Media
Launcher, allows filmmakers to easily upload and
publish their films, regardless of file size or
length, on the iMF web site. Fast downloading of DVD
quality versions of the films through underlying grid
computing technology allows viewers the ability to
easily watch an unlimited number of festival entries.
Kaneva technology gives viewers the option of watching
shorts (under 30 minutes) via real-time streaming in
addition to downloading them.
The online nature of iMF also offers a community where
film fans can participate in online forum discussions,
post reviews of movies, vote for favorites and
converse with filmmakers through text or video blogs.
Added user-driven search mechanisms, including the use
of "tags" which collaboratively categorize content
based on topics and key words as well as featured
lists such as "most popular films," allow Kaneva to
marry technology with the artistic world of film,
offering filmmakers an entirely new canvas on which to
share their work.
Categories and Dates:
iMF offers filmmakers six primary entry categories:
drama, comedy, and documentary features (over 30
minutes) and drama, comedy and documentary shorts
(under 30 minutes). The online viewing audience rates
the films, and the top 25 in each category are judged
by a distinguished panel to determine winners. In
addition, a "Best of iMF" Award will be determined by
the festival's judges and an "Audience Choice" Award
will be chosen solely by the iMF online community.
Independence MovieFest begins accepting submissions
immediately, with a final deadline of May 15, 2006.
The festival concludes, and winners will be announced,
on July 4, 2006. Information about entrant and viewer
fees and other contest details are available at
independencemoviefest.com, as well as at kaneva.com
and campusmoviefest.com.
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