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Singapore Goes Portable!

The Portable Film Festival makes its debut in Singapore and Asia!

Singapore!, 18 March 2008 -- SINGAPORE GOES PORTABLE!

With a strong focus in nurturing the talents of Singaporean writers and filmmakers, the Portable Film Festival takes Asia by storm with the Portable Symposium and Screen Academy extravaganza.

Singapore, 17 March 2008 - The Portable Film Festival is one of the world's largest and most diverse film and screen channels. It curates the best in online, underground and international film and video content and presents it to a youth-orientated online audience through portable video devices such as mobile phones, iPods and laptops, as well as offline, through a range of detailed, exciting and innovative events. Portable Content (Melbourne) developed the Portable Film Festival in 2007 and is now ready to take flight into Asia with its outstanding reputation of breaking films into the online world.

Portable Content is bringing its breakthrough Portable Film Festival to Singapore for the first time and it's all going to happen at the Arts House from 1 April! Come along and experience the digital media phenomenon with free films being distributed to your portable devices so that YOU can watch it anytime, anywhere, and hence - portable! Creative Director of the Portable Film Festival, Andrew Apostola discusses the many benefits of online digital film and media and the heavy user content angle, "Videocasting is more convenient than streaming video as films are received directly on your device rather than going through a link on a website." Mr. Apostola also states, "You can choose the films you want to watch, and watch them any where, anytime - during your lunch break or on a train. More people are busy and working longer hours and although they'd like very much to buy tickets to watch films at your local cinemas, their lifestyle just makes it difficult With more people already watching films on YouTube and even DVDs on notebooks; going portable will be the next step."

Portable Film Festival is officially bringing its Screening Academy and Symposium to Singapore from April 4-6, 2008 at The Arts House. With a team of curators, including Ezra Cooperstein, the director of Viewer Created Content from the Emmy Award winning media platform Current TV who will take charge as lead mentor. Since its inception in 2005,Current TV has become the world's leading news and information network, working around the clock, 24/7, to produce cable and satellite television, intrinsically catered towards an online medium, focusing on audience/user content. With the launch of Current.com, the first fully integrated web and TV platform, users can participate in shaping an on going stream of news and information that is compelling, authentic and relevant to them.

Another major player on board for this innovative Singapore launch will be Peter Giles,Head of Digital Media from the Australian Film and Television Radio School. Peter has established Australia's leading professional programs in visual effects, computer animation and emerging media. His department has produced projects that have won awards at SIGGRAPH, AFI, Arts Electronica and the British and US Academy Awards. This expertise cast over the film festival by Apostola, Cooperstein and Giles is one of the standout attractions of the Singapore online digital push, and will be a godsend for all involved in terms of the assistance provided by all three.

In addition to the Portable Symposium, the Portable Screen Academy - through the Portable Film Festival - will also introduce the world's leading practioners to Singapore and work with 24 local writers, producers and film-makers over two days, in HD Format, to produce two four-part online serials, assisting them to be the next big thing in online and on mobile, and breaking into the world of entertainment through Web 2.0.

Ppam Hu, Director (Community & International Relations) of Media Development Authority(MDA) said: "Leading-edge technology and Web 2.0 applications are giving consumers the power and freedom to create and share content across different portable devices and platforms. This has contributed to the rise of multi-platform User-Generated Content. By supporting Portable Film Festival through MDA's MediAction! initiative, we hope Singaporeans and the local media industry will recognize the potential of multi-platform content and delivery, kick-starting a local buzz and excitement in multi-platform adoption.

"The Portable Film Festival also builds on the growing media collaborations between Australia and Singapore. We are pleased that Portable Content has chosen Singapore as its third partner country, outside of Australia and the United States, to host Portable Film Festival. This decision underscores the Australian partner's commitment to Singapore, as well as its conviction in the potential of Singapore's media industry."

When the Portable Film Festival launched at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas in March2007, it had 670 submissions from 42 countries with over 200 submissions from 15 countries arriving through online, fighting it out to take home the prize. The overall winner of the 2007 festival was The Trainee by Craig Rosenthal, with the film actually created in Singapore, hence Portable Film Festivals strong interest in the South-East-Asian creative, digital and online markets.

Local filmmaker, Lionel Chok - Director of Portable Content Singapore, is working with major sponsors and supporters including The Media Development Authority as the main Government sponsor, The Arts House as official venue partner.

Other partners of the PFF include:

Apple, JVC, Australian High Commission, WOW TV and EyeCon Productions - to name but a few.
All players are ready to hit the ground running in Singapore from April as part of Portable Film Festival's Portable Symposium and Screen Academy.

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Media Contacts:
If you wish to know more about the talents mentioned in this Press Release, please see the screen shot biographies attached or contact Lionel Chok for their full bios at his office line 62385939 or email . Also, if you would like to schedule an interview with Portable Film Festival creative director Andrew Apostola, you may contact Lionel Chok as well.

Footnotes:
About Portable Singapore
For more information on the latest developments of Portable Singapore or more information about the Portable Film Festival's Portable Screen Academy and Portable Symposium launch in Singapore (ticketing details etc.), please visit the following website: http://www.portablesingapore.com/home.html !

About Current TV
Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices. With the launch of Current.com, the first fully integrated web and TV platform users can participate in shaping an ongoing stream of news and information that is compelling, authentic and relevant to them. Current pioneered the television industry's leading model of interactive viewer created content (VC2). Comprising roughly one-third of Current's on-air broadcast, this content is submitted via short-form, non-fiction video "pods". Viewer Created Ad Messages (VCAMs) are also open to viewer's participation. (Please see: http://current.com/)

Note To Editors:
Please feel free to contact Lionel Chok for more information and to schedule interviews.

Submitted by Tamara Kisha on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 at 12:41 PM
Category: Arts & Entertainment