Monday, July 16, 2007

IFC Free Film Fest July 24 to July 26


For Immediate Release

IFC AND COMCAST SELECT MIAMI AS DESTINATION FOR NATIONAL TRAVELING FREE FILM FEST

Uncut Versions of Indie Favorites Raising Arizona, The Princess Bride and Napoleon Dynamite Will Be Featured on a State-Of-The-Art Outdoor Video System

Event offers opportunity for local filmmakers to showcase their work; local residents encouraged to “Donate a DVD” as part of special collection for Holtz Children’s Hospital “Movie Library”

Drawing will be held for HD Camera

Miami, FL – July 16, 2007 – IFC and Comcast announced today that Miami has been selected as a destination for the IFC Free Film Fest – a state-of-the-art, multimedia 10-city independent film tour. IFC and Comcast are inviting local residents to enjoy a three-day, fun and multifaceted independent film experience at Bayfront Park, beginning on July 24 and running through July 26. Open to the public at no cost, the tour will screen uncut Indie films within a high-tech outdoor mini-entertainment complex in ten total cities across the country. Miami will be the third stop on the tour which kicks off in Philadelphia on July 10.

The event will also include: important opportunities for local filmmakers; an on-site collection of new and used DVDs which will be donated to a local Miami hospital; and a chance for attendees to win an HD camera:

Local Miami filmmakers will have the opportunity to have their shorts showcased at the IFC Media Lab Lounge. Free and open to the public, the Media Lab Lounge is an on-site venue for local filmmakers who have submitted shorts to IFC's online user-generated program at www.ifc.com/medialab

IFC and Comcast are partnering with Kid Flicks, a non-profit organization founded in 2002 by two teenaged girls, the Barta sisters, to collect DVDs to donate to hospitals. Local residents are encouraged to bring to the festival new and/or used DVDs that appeal to the age groups of toddlers through teenagers. The videos collected at the on-site donation box will be donated to Holtz Children’s Hospital.

HD Camera Giveaway -- Event-goers visiting the Media Lab Lounge can enter to win a new JVC HD camera by filling out a simple form and dropping it in the designated locations when exiting the lounge. Forms will be available each night. The winner will be randomly selected from the entries and notified within several days of the event.

The IFC Free Film Fest adds a new dimension to the network's mission to make Indie films more accessible to movie-goers across the country and seek new ways to expand the audience for independent filmmakers. IFC’s ‘tv,uncut’ mantra will ring true with uncut screenings of each of the three films including the Coen Brothers cult hit, Raising Arizona; the family-friendly fairy tale classic The Princess Bride; as well as the unconventionally humorous Napoleon Dynamite. All films will be shown on a 40’ x 20’ inflatable air screen constructed specifically by IFC for the tour. The films will begin at dusk, following a variety of pre-show activities, including musical entertainment.

“With this traveling Film Festival, IFC and Comcast bring great, uncut, independent films out of the theater and under the stars - for film fans of all ages," said Evan Shapiro, EVP and General Manager, IFC. “In addition to three great Indie films, we'll be showcasing young, undiscovered digital filmmakers in our Media Lab Lounge, where people can check out short films by local directors. This tour literally brings the IFC brand to life.”

“We’re excited to bring this one-of-kind type of summer entertainment to South Florida. This is such a unique opportunity for couples and families to pack a picnic dinner and enjoy a movie on the shores of Biscayne Bay and in the midst of one of the most scenic skylines in the nation,” said Filemon Lopez, Comcast’s regional senior vice president for South Florida. “IFC has been a very innovative partner. In 2006, the network added IFC in Theaters to our ON DEMAND lineup, bringing, for the first time ever, independent theatrical movies to customers across the country so they can enjoy them from the comfort of their own homes, on the same days the movies are released theatrically.”

The event kicks off each night at 6:00 PM with a host of pre-show activities including an old-fashioned bouncing ball onscreen sing-along to a song from one of the movies that will screen during the event; the films will begin at sunset. Event-goers should use the park entrance at 301 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami and may bring food and beverages.


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