Go Go Japan Pocket Film Festival - Submit Your Own

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I know some people don't get this - and I can understand that - but there's just something inviting about a film festival which is strictly for cell phones - either films to be shown on a mobile phone, or taken with one.

I think part of it is just curiosity. How well can someone actually make a movie for that format? Will it really be any good? Could it be even more personal even though it's not on an AMC sized screen?

Here's some info from Reuters on Japan's first Pocket Film Festival:

The inaugural Pocket Film Festival in Japan, showing movies made entirely on mobile phone cameras, will kick off Friday in Yokohama.

Forty-eight films, chosen from more than 400 entries from 18 countries -- including Japan, Singapore, China, South Korea and Germany -- will screen in competition at the weekend event, organized by the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

The competition has two categories, one for films to be shown on regular screens and the other for films to be viewed on phones. The winning film will receive 500,000 yen (US$4,500).
If you're interested in being a mobile phone filmmaker you might also want to check out the French Pocket Films Festival (4th edition) which is taking submissions up through March 1 and will take place at the Pompidou Center, Paris June, 13-15th.