Rubbish Film Festival a big hit!

For immediate release
1 June 2005

Rubbish Film Festival a big hit!

Picking a winner for the first online mobile film festival was not an easy task. However the winner Jason Taylor from Auckland proved anything is possible now with the advent of T3G video messaging technology. His film titled “Sink Man” took out the prize for Best Screenplay and the competition’s top prize – a trip for two to Hollywood.

“You’ve made my year – thank you Telecom! I’ll never stop creating,” says an elated Taylor.

The Rubbish Film Festival was unique in that it was the first online mobile film festival and over 900 competitors were attracted to the ease and accessibility of entering. They simply had to shoot their own 20 second movies using 027 mobile phones and then upload the films to www.rubbishfilmfest.co.nz, where the public could view and vote for films, just for fun. A panel of experts then judged the category prize winners and best overall entry.

The competition was split into five categories: Cinematography, Sound, Screenplay/Acting, Technical Production and Overall Impression.

Each of the category winners won a Sanyo 76cm Flat Stereo Widescreen TV and a DVD Home Theatre system worth $1500 each while the overall winner also scored a trip for 2 to the home of movie making – Hollywood. The trip includes 5 nights accommodation, VIP passes to Universal Studios and a tour of movie star homes with a total value of $12,000.

On the judging panel were TV Personality Jaquie Brown, Creative Director Mike O’Sullivan and Actor Robbie Magasiva who had a tough job but after hours of deliberation and plenty of laughs the five winners came up trumps.

“It was a great competition,” says Jaquie Brown. “Instead of playing snake when you are bored you can put your ideas to good use. This has been a great way to vent low-fi directing, acting, and editing aspirations. There have been some really great results. There were some fizzers too, but you know, bless them for trying!”

Dennis Wadsworth was the winner of the Cinematography category with his film titled ‘Moby Song’.
“At 51 years of age, I’m still not too old to learn about new technology; video phones are not just for kids,” says Wadsworth.

The prize for Overall Impression went to Duncan Bacon of Dunedin for his film ‘Duncan’s Saucy Home Movie’.
“At first we weren’t sure that Duncan’s movie was suitable for younger viewers but its genius soon became apparent. Somebody give that man a pie,” says Mike O’Sullivan.

Fifteen year old Kate McKevitt and Hedi Mueller from Whakatane took out the top spot in the Sound Category with their film “The Ringer” while Kirk Peacock from Dunedin won the Technical Production category with “Chin Alien”.

The Rubbish Film Competition has bought to life the latest in video messaging services.

“Now customers have the ability to shoot and send video instantly using our latest video capable handsets,” says Telecom Mobile Marketing Communications Manager, Kellie Nathan.

“This competition has illustrated how customers have fully embraced the new technology and taken it to the next level. Their mobile phone is now as much a portable video camera as it is a phone. It provides the freedom to shoot really creative stuff wherever they are within the 027 coverage area and share it with another video capable Telecom mobile or anyone on email,” she says.

To view the winning films, check out www.rubbishfilmfest.co.nz

ENDS

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