Amazon.com and Tribeca Announce Short-Film Competition

Posted on March 18, 2005

Amazon.com, Inc. and Tribeca Film Festival founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, along with Tribeca Film Festival founding partner American Express, have announced the launch of the Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition. Through April 13, 2005, Amazon.com will accept short-film submissions for entry into the competition. Filmmakers can submit films that are up to seven minutes in length, according to the rules and instructions. Macromedia Flash will be the exclusive video format for the competition.

Amazon.com customers will be able to view the submitted films in the Tribeca Screening Room on the company's website, where they will be invited to rate the films on a scale from one to five, using the existing Amazon.com star rating system. Additionally, five celebrity jurors from the Tribeca Film Festival will review selected film submissions alongside Amazon.com customers and provide their commentary on the site.

The five highest-rated films will be screened at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City and will run over a period of four weeks on the Amazon.com home page, which is visited by millions of customers each day. The top filmmaker as rated by Amazon.com customers will receive a grant of $50,000 for his or her next film, which will be awarded in the form of an American Express prepaid card in the amount of $50,000. The winning filmmaker will be announced in early July.

"This is a great initiative to help recognize and reward talented short-film makers," said Robert De Niro, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. "We're very happy to be working with Amazon.com to help identify and support emerging talent."

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, will take place from April 19th to May 1st in various locations throughout lower Manhattan. The 2005 Festival will feature special events, outdoor concerts and screenings, a street fair, and panel discussions with noted filmmakers.