INDEPENDENT BLACK FILM FESTIVAL EXPLODES IN HOTLANTA WITH MOVIES, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY, AND VIDEO GAMES

Indie Film Fest Recognizes Convergent Media
January 20 through 25 in Atlanta, GA

2004 will begin with a bang when the Independent Black Film Festival (IBFF) explodes in Atlanta, during King Week, January 20 through January 25 at the Magic Johnson Theatre. Merging urban film, broadband technology, and music, IBFF will celebrate submissions of movies, screenplays, film scores, and video games via a forum of panels, screenings, seminars and socializing.

Created by Daymon Bradford, an acclaimed 3D animation filmmaker and Bill Moore, a creative photography guru, the Independent Black Film Festival expands the borders of the typical film festival by exploring the technological advances within the industry and encompassing the new paradigm of digital urban entertainment.

“As young filmmakers,” states Bradford, “we have found that the lines between movies and videogames have almost been obliterated. Look at the Matrix and TombRaider. So we decided to create a “convergence” festival that recognizes this rising fusion of media arts in filmmaking, and give voice to it.”

In addition to the usual foray of full-length feature films and shorts offered at most festivals, IBFF will showcase computer animation, film scoring techniques and screenwriting workshops in tribute to the emerging urban markets for independent film.

Professional training courses in the industry’s leading specialized software, SOFTIMAGE®, will also be offered in response to the accelerating demand for trained urban animators and gamers and PRO TOOLS® will teach a course in Audio Engineering.

Panel discussions will include topics such as “The Indie Spirit: An Urban Perspective for Filmmakers of Color“; “Hip Hop as a Vehicle for Change in the Movie Industry”; “The Global Impact of Urban Film”; and “ How Technology is Revolutionizing Filmmaking.”

“We felt it was vital to create alternative platforms devoted to a place of discovery for the new talents of black independent cinema. IBFF will hopefully be acknowledged as that platform and also a haven for the creative and independent mind,” adds Moore.

For additional information regarding film, music and script submissions, registration and festival events go to www.indieblackfilm.com or call (770) 912-8951.