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FIRST-EVER WEBBY FILM AND VIDEO AWARDS
UNVEIL NOMINEES FOR “OSCARS® OF THE INTERNET”
Starting Today, Public Can Vote for Favorite Online Films and Videos in
The Webby People’s Voice Awards presented by Verizon
www.peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com
New York, NY – (April 10, 2007) –Capping a year that saw online film and video reshape the media and entertainment landscape, The Webby Awards today unveiled the nominees for The Webby Film and Video Awards, the first major awards honoring original film and video content premiering on the Internet.
Hailed as the “OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards honoring Web sites, online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile content.
From heavy hitters like NBC’s “The Office Webisodes” (Best Comedy-Short) and The Sundance Institute’s “Live @ Sundance” (Best Event/Live Broadcast) to pop phenomena like Ravi Jain’s “Drivetime” (Best Music/Variety) and Steven Voltz’s “The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments” (Best Viral), the nominees will compete in eleven categories including Animation, Drama, Reality, and News/Documentary. A full list of all nominees can be found at www.webbyawards.com.
Reflecting the awards’ prestige, The Webby Film and Video Awards were judged by more than 80 entertainment industry leaders including, The Sundance Channel’s Larry Aidem, Showtime chief Matt Blank, 20th Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopoulos, and Harvey Weinstein.
Unlike other awards shows, where only judges choose the winners, The Webby Film and Video Awards revels in the Web’s democratic spirit. Starting today through April 27th, the public can cast their votes in The Webby People’s Voice Awards presented by Verizon at www.peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com.
“The diversity of the nominees confirms that online film and video goes well beyond the popularity of sites like YouTube and MySpace,” said David Michel-Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “From personal video blogs to weekly series, the nominees are changing the world’s viewing habits. It will be exciting to see if the public and the judges agree on which films and videos deserve their moment in the Webby spotlight.”
Winners will be announced on May 1st and honored at a star-studded ceremony on June 4th in New York City. Hosted by comedian Rob Corddry (Fox’s “The Winner,” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”), the ceremony will showcase both Webby and People’s Voice winners delivering the awards’ famous five-word speeches.
Other trends and highlights among The Webby Film and Video Awards nominees include:
- Breakout video and films like Ozone Time’s “It’s JerryTime!”” (Best Animation), Alan Becker’s “Animator vs. Animation” (Best Animation), Blink Production’s “Slob Evolution” (Best Viral), VH1’s “Tom Cruise on Oprah: The Way It Should Have Been” (Best Comedy Short), and Cool Hunting’s “Cool Hunting Video” (Best Music/Variety).
- Lesser-known nominees poised for online stardom include Ahree Lee’s “Me” (Best Experimental), Neil Mandts “Last Stop for Paul” (Best Drama), Smashface Production’s “Jetset” (Best Music/Variety), and The School of Visual Arts’ “Their Circumstances” (Best Student).
- The nominees reflect the wide variety of formats beyond the ubiquitous viral video – from a daily video blog (“Hug Nation” – Best Reality) to a regular series (“itsallinyourhands.com” – Best Drama) to an online magazine offering new documentaries every month (“Freeway Films” – Best News/Documentary/Public Service).
- The war in Iraq looms large among the nominees for Best News/Documentary, including Yahoo! News’ “Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone” and Slate.com’s “Never Coming Home,”” in which five families of soldiers killed in Iraq tell their stories.
In addition to winning a Webby, nominees and winners of The Webby Film and Video Awards will become part of The Museum of Moving Image’s collection of over 125,000 moving image-related artifacts. The Museum of the Moving Image (www.movingimage.us) maintains the nation’s largest and most comprehensive collection of moving image-related artifacts.
For information on nominees in other Webby Awards categories, including Websites, interactive advertising, and mobile content, visit www.webbyawards.com.
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 11th Annual Webby Awards received a record 8,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Adobe; The Creative Group; Verizon; AOL Video; dotMobi; Level3; Adweek; Fortune; Reuters; Variety; Wired; IDG: Brightcove; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
OSCAR® is a federally registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are in no way affiliated with or sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or OSCAR®.
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