Babelgum Strikes Partnership with Short Film Festival

LONDON, November 6: Babelgum has partnered with the
U.K.-based Encounters Short Film Festival to allow participants to air their
short films on the peer-to-peer-based global Internet TV platform.

The films will be available to a potential 300-plus million
people worldwide with a PC and access to the Internet. Talent scouts from major
production houses worldwide will also be able to screen films regardless of
where they are or whether they can attend the Encounters Short Film Festival.
Film directors and rights owners can upload content on Babelgum from today
until November 20. Filmmakers can upload their festival submissions to
www.encounters-festival.org.uk, which will subsequently be made available on
Babelgum.

The Encounters Short Film Festival takes place in Bristol
every November. This year’s Encounters festival has received more than 1,750
entries from a record 66 countries. Last year’s festival attracted
approximately 7,000 attendees, with nearly 300 short films shown.

Encounters entrants will also be given the opportunity to
enter the Babelgum Online Film Festival. The festival, chaired by director
Spike Lee, will award winning filmmakers a 20,000 euros cash prize for each of
the seven categories, two of which are dedicated to shorts and animation.

Valerio Zingarelli, the CEO of Babelgum, said: “The
Encounters Festival is the U.K.’s most important short film festival and
showcases some of the best from new and established talent from around the
world. Babelgum gives consumers the opportunity to view that work in their own
time wherever they may be. We hope to see many of the entrants taking the
opportunity to further promote their work through the Babelgum Online Film
Festival, which gives them the chance to win lucrative and prestigious awards
and gain additional exposure.”

—By Irene Lew