Babelgum, described as "the new interactive web TV portal," has made available for viewing all entries to the Babelgum Online Film Festival. More than a thousand entries — about a quarter of which are "premieres"; average length: 12 minutes — from 86 countries (mostly the US and the UK) are available so Internet users can pick their favorites.
As per the Babelgum press release, "users now have the opportunity to view and vote on a truly diverse set of short films until mid May. There is a good variety of fresh and original content and, as the average film length is just twelve minutes, it is easy for everyone to get involved and have their say on who will become the next big filmmaking talent."
Among the submitted "highlights" — according to the Babelgum release — are a short about Greek gods stranded in the 21st century; a three-part short "produced much in the style of Rear Window," about a crucial day in the life of a UFO-hunting freak; and a short in which the lead character attends "a fancy dress party where all the other attendees are wearing masks displaying faces of George Bush and [of members of] his administration. The lead character is flirting with Bush before things go further and he whisks her away to another room. The character then realizes she is locked in the room with Bush and his administration, who watch as he rapes her."
Following the public vote, entries will be judged by the Babelgum festival jury, led by US film director Spike Lee. The other jury members are:
- Joe Bateman, Festival Director of the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival (U.K.)
- Ally Derks, Director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
- Bhuvan Lall, Founder of the Indian Independent Filmmakers Worldwide Association (India)
- Tiziana Loschi, Managing Director of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Citia (City of Moving Images) (France)
- Joe Neulight, Co-Founder and President of Withoutabox (U.S.)
- Sandra Ruch, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (U.S.)
- Teri Schwartz, Dean of the Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television (U.S.)
- James Mullighan, Creative Director of Shooting People (U.K.)
- Carl Spence, Artistic Director of the Seattle International Film Festival and Director of Programming of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (U.S.)
- Stefano Martina, Director of Arcipelago, International Festival of Short Films and New Images (Italy)
- Johannes Newrkla, Founding member of the Art Directors Club of Europe (Austria)
The winners, to be announced in April, will receive €20,000 (about US$27,500).
A couple of concerns about the festival:
In The Hollywood Reporter, Eric J. Lyman and Stuart Kemp remark that "the creation of the festival throws up several ethical issues facing the judges, including the stipulation that 'offensive' material is ruled out in the contracts drawn up for submissions from the movie's producers.
"The possibility of censorship — what's offensive to one person in Italy might not be so for a U.S. participant — and the possibility that voting might be skewed by some viewers voting multiple times raise questions."
In order to view the short films, go to www.babelgum.com and "follow simple instructions to download the software quickly and easily." I haven't gone there, yet, so I'm not sure how simple the "simple instructions" actually are.
Béla Tarr Retrospective at LACMA
Manoel de Oliveira Retrospective at BAMcinématek
Academy's Contemporary Documentaries 2008
"Films from the New Europe" at USC
CineKink NYC 2008 Film Line-Up
THE ELITE SQUAD: The 2008 Berlin Film Festival's Controversial Winner
Francesco Rosi to Receive Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement
Berlin Film Festival 2008 Loses Two Jury Members
THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO – Notes/Trivia
Interesting, today I received a press release from Babelgum, stating that they're launching a new platform.
I went to their website, but had trouble loading the page. If they're getting too many visits, then perhaps they need a faster server.