YouTube and Emirates, in partnership with La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Film Festival) and Scott Free, announced today the 50 semi-finalists for Your Film Festival. Scott Free had the difficult task of narrowing down more than 15,000 submissions from more than 160 countries across the globe.
It is now up to the YouTube community to view and vote on the semi-finalists at youtube.com/yourfilmfestival thus helping decide which 10 filmmakers will attend the Venice Film Festival and compete for the $500,000 grand-prize.
Michael Fassbender
Content creators around the world were asked to submit a 15-minute, story-driven video of any format, style and genre. Submissions came from all over the world and the semi-finalists reflect the global reach of the festival. The ten finalists will travel to Italy, where their work will screen at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in August. A grand-prize winner will then be named by a special jury, which includes Sir Ridley Scott and acclaimed actor Michael Fassbender, and awarded a $500,000 YouTube original production grant to work with Scott Free.
Starting today and through July 16 the entire YouTube community will be able to view and vote on the selection of films at Your Film Festival.
Watch critically acclaimed director and Your Film Festival judge, Ridley Scott, discuss the 50 semi-finalists and the voting process in depth here: http://youtu.be/k4_v7PecvjE.
Check out the talents of local filmmaker Niralji Ravishanker’s black and white Wickate video.
Your Film Festival is one of several efforts by YouTube to push the boundaries of music, art, and film. It follows the incredibly successful partnership that YouTube experienced with Scott Free to help create the critically acclaimed documentary Life In A Day. Other projects like the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, YouTube Play, and YouTube Space Lab are examples of the convergence of online video with traditional arts. Emirates, the global airline, is also on board as a proud sponsor of the program and the festival.
Scott Free Productions was formed in 1995 and is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed film directors, brothers Ridley and Tony Scott.
The 69th Venice International Film Festival is directed by Alberto Barbera and organised by la Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta. It will be held on the Venice Lido from 29th August to 8th September 2012. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance. The International Competition awards the Golden Lion and other official prizes.
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