JOIN USThe worldwide launch of ‘Bitfilm 13’, the international digital film competition, provided animation lovers of the City a platform to watch some of the best digital short films in the world through the fest. The opening ceremony of the festival was held at the Jaaga Art Space.
The ceremony began with an introduction of the festival to those who were not aware about it. Glimpses of the festival, which was held in Hamburg in 2008, were shown to the audience. A recap of all the films that were showcased in the festival along with the award ceremony were also shown to the audience. Films such as ‘Our Wonderful Nature’ from Israel, ‘Rusty Whispers Dennis’ from UK, ‘Lifeforce’ from Greece, ‘A Perfect Likeness’ etc were a part of the festival that year.
Aaron Koenig, Bitfilm’s founder and director, informs that the films have been segregated into four categories. “These categories are 3D animation, 2D animation, digital hybrids and Machinima. However this year, we are going to introduce a new concept, which is an internet film competition, where people can watch a film and vote. We don’t have a set jury for the film and the audience is our jury. There will be three months of internet voting, we also have a few entries from India,” he adds. He says that those who wish to conduct a film festival in their City can do so by getting in touch with them through their website, which is www.bitfilm.com/festival
“People who want to watch these films and vote can do so. We want the audience to try out our new voting system. This year, we have introduced the system of Bitcoins, a new digital currency as a voting tool. There is a total of 59 films in the competition and each one has its own bank account. So when someone wants to vote they can contribute some amount to the account.
The film with the maximum amount of money will win the competition and will be awarded at the closing ceremony in Hamburg, in April. Bensen Samuel, who organises ‘Bitcoins Meet’ on a regular basis is here and he can help anyone who want to know more,’’ he explains.
The second half of the session saw Vijayraj D, who co-produced an Indo-German film with the team in Hamburg, talking about the scope of animation to many animation students who were attending the programme.
Anusha, an animation student, says that the programme was helpful as she would get the opportunity to interact with many people from the industry. “This is a great platform for students like us, who are studying animation. It provides a platform where we get to know experts from our industry and learn from them,” she says.