The motion-picture industry’s vision for the mobile screen is coming into clearer focus. The Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project and the Mobile Bollywood Initiative both released their first short, made-for-mobile films in conjunction with the GSM Association (GSMA) at last week’s 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project, which was first unveiled last November, released five original made-for-mobile films at the Barcelona conference that were made available for wide distribution Feb. 15 at www.sundance.org/globalshortfilms. All of the independent filmmakers behind these shorts have previously screened films at the annual Sundance Film Festival. Their films represent a diverse range in genre and culture.
“I believe mobile viewers will be surprised and delighted by the diversity of these films,” said the GSMA’s Bill Gajda, chief marketing officer, at the conference. “Ranging from the comic to exquisite, the radically different creative styles of storytelling play extraordinarily well to the unique, viral nature of the mobile medium.”
The films include “A Slip In Time” by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, “Learning to Skateboard” by Jody Hill, “La Revolucion De Iguodala!” by Justin Lin, “Los Viajes De King Tiny” by Maria Maggenti and “Reno” by Cory McAbee.
“We hope that the Global Short Film Project inspires filmmakers and artists to think outside of the realm of traditional venues for cinema, and experiment with mobile as an intimate new avenue-with global potential-for their work,” said Sundance’s John Cooper, director of programming for the film festival and creative director for the institute.
Bollywood initiative
The Mobile Bollywood Initiative, which was first unveiled last month in Mumbai, India, also premiered its first feature films created for mobile viewers at the conference. The shorts promise to be the first of thousands of Bollywood productions for the mobile screen, the group said. Bollywood’s unique scenes, combined with song and dance, “make the vibrant, fast-moving movies a compelling entertainment experience for the mobile viewer,” it added.
The Mobile Bollywood Initiative released two short films produced by Sanjay Gupta. Gupta, a leading Bollywood director who has produced and directed many popular movies, is among the initiative’s key backers. Others involved in the project include Roamware and Hungama Mobile, the largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment and Bollywood content. The two films, “Zahir” and “Matrimony,” are part of the feature film “Dus Kahaniyaan” (10 Stories) produced by Gupta, starting more than 20 leading Bollywood stars including Dia Mirza, Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Neha Mandira Bedi and Aftab Shivdasani.
“We are excited by the tremendous potential for Bollywoood entertainment on mobile phones, and are delighted to support the efforts of Roamware and Hungama Mobile in their commitment to bringing a rich array of Indian film entertainment to the fourth screen for a global audience of millions,” GSMA’s Gajda said.
