Over the past few months we have worked with several indie artists to distribute their work via BitTorrent. As a company, this is something that we are passionate about, because we think there is great potential for artists to leverage the distribution economics of BitTorrent to reach a large and engaged audience to not only build a fan base but create a sustainable business

Shared Film Festival at OVC is Open to the General Public

model that allows them to create future works. We are encouraged by the results that we have had with VODO on the Pioneer One and The Yes Men Fix the World – P2P Edition releases, and most recently with PAZ’s mixtape “Young Broke and Fameless.”

So, in conjunction with the Open Video Conference (OVC) we are excited to launch the Shared Film Festival (SFF). The festival will bring notable films from creators who are experimenting with alternative media models and distribution to the big screen. The filmmakers will be on hand to present their stories, experiences and business approaches. SFF gives creators and audiences alike an opportunity to engage in a larger dialogue about shared culture and peer-to-peer distribution with other filmmakers, creators, funders and members of the general public not yet familiar with this rich, developing culture.

Each night following OVC, we’ll screen a short film, a feature length production, and then sit down to a discussion with the filmmakers, learning about the stories behind the films; their production experiences; and business strategies. We are excited to announce that The Yes Men will be in-person to screen their film during the first evening. On the second night, we will be screening a new film, “Person of Interest,” and the writer/star and director of the film will also be on hand. (The full schedule is below.)

So, as if the event could not get any better, we are opening it up to the general public for FREE! We are very excited about this event, and hope to see you there!

Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, 7 p.m.

• VODO Short Film – Gilbert by Nathaniel Hansen
• Full-length feature – Yes Men Fix the World – P2P Edition by the Yes Men
• Panel
  • Corynne McSheery, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
  • Yes Men – Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum
  • Moderator – Karol Martesko-Fenster, Babel Networks

Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, 7 p.m.

• VODO Short Film – Lilah by Nathaniel Hansen
• Full-length feature: Person of Interest by Gregory Bayne
• Panel
  • Gregory Bayne, director of Person of Interest
  • J. Reuben Appelman, writer and star of Person of Interest
  • Moderator – Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre and former CEO of Tribeca Film Institute