Building on the success of the inaugural competition in which thousands of Amazon.com customers participated, online jurors can now track the films they’ve rated and watch them as many times as they wish
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Seattle-(BUSINESSWIRE)-August 29, 2005 -Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the Tribeca Film Festival and its founding partner American Express today announced the opening of the Tribeca Screening Room ( www.amazon.com/screeningroom ). For the next four weeks, millions of Amazon.com customers will have the opportunity to rate submissions from novice and established filmmakers. Additionally, a new feature in the Tribeca Screening Room tracks each film rated by customers and allows them to watch the films they’ve rated again and again.
The Tribeca Screening Room will close on September 23, and the ratings will be tabulated. On October 3, the five top-rated films will begin to debut on the Amazon.com home page. The grand prize winner as selected by Amazon.com customers will be announced in November and will receive a $50,000 award from American Express towards his or her next film project.
Hosting a second competition spotlights the dedication of Amazon.com, the Tribeca Film Festival and its founding partner American Express to the filmmaking community. The continuing goal of the three institutions is to provide an ongoing forum that encourages new filmmakers to enter the field while also providing established filmmakers with a platform to showcase their work. Consumers, serious film aficionados and casual film fans are able to join the process, assuming the role of film critics and competition voters.
“The Tribeca Film Festival’s commitment to filmmakers and the filmmaking community extends to identifying innovative platforms that will make their works available to the largest audience possible,” said Jennifer Maguire Isham, president of the Tribeca Film Festival. “This competition is a tremendous outlet for filmmakers at every level, as well as pure fun for the audiences watching the films and being a part of the process.”
“The quality and entertainment value of the films in the first competition has created a fever pitch of anticipation for the opening of the screening room,” said Amazon.com vice president Kathy Savitt. “Amazon.com customers can’t wait to begin rating films and to once again be a part of our search for great filmmakers.”
The Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short Film Competition has shaped a unique forum where the filmmaking community can both express their ideas and engage in a creative dialogue with the public about their work,” said Rich Lehrfeld, American Express vice president for sponsorship marketing. “We’re thrilled to support this effort once again and are looking forward to watching people select the next great short filmmaker.”
Only films submitted to the second Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition between June 29 and August 17 are eligible for this sequel contest. Each entry must be a maximum of seven minutes in length and must conform to the rules and instructions found at www.amazon.com/shortfilms.
Last June, the five finalists from the inaugural competition were flown to New York City where their works were screened at a VIP gathering at the Tribeca Film Center. Pennsylvania native Jon Lindgren was presented with the grand prize by author Tom Wolfe and entertainment entrepreneur Damon Dash for “Rachel’s Challenge,” a short film chronicling a behind-the-scenes battle of good vs. evil surrounding the Columbine high school shootings. Lindgren’s $50,000 pre-paid American Express cardwill be used to help fund his next film project.
Macromedia Flash is the exclusive video format for the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition.
About Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking capital. Tribeca Cinemas, located at 54 Varick Street, was acquired by the Festival founders in 2003 and serves as a year-round venue for the Festival and its related activities.
The 2005 Festival, presented by American Express, took place from April 19th to May 1st in various locations throughout lower Manhattan. The 2005 Festival featured special events, outdoor concerts and screenings, a street fair, and panel discussions with noted filmmakers.