Contact:
Gita Chandra, gita@pkpr.com
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@pkpr.com
PKPR, 212.627.8098
BOOM IN ONLINE VIDEO TALENT SPURS NEW WEBBY AWARDS
CATEGORIES HONORING PERFORMANCES AND PERSONALITIES
Call for Entries Kicks-Off Today; Best Video Remix/Mashup Among New Categories
New York, NY (September 23, 2008) – Reflecting online video’s increasingly influential role in shaping popular culture, The Webby Film and Video Awards today kicked off its 13th annual call for entries with new categories honoring the medium’s growing ranks of talent, performers, and personalities.
New categories honoring individual performances include Best Host of Reality/Variety Series and Best Individual Performance, which will honor everything from a poignant dramatic performance to an intricately executed dance routine.
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including online film and video, Websites, interactive advertising, and mobile Websites. To enter work in The Webby Film and Video Awards, visit www.webbyawards.com. The early entry deadline is October 31, 2008.
“Our new categories reflect the Internet’s role as a breeding ground for some of today’s most exciting and original talent,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “We’re looking forward to honoring the performers and personalities who are pushing the medium forward in exciting new directions.”
For the first time, The Webby Awards will also present Best Video Mashup/Remix, which will salute the digital art form dedicated to combining disparate video clips into new and original works. The genre has risen to new heights with such standouts as the Hillary Clinton/1984 Apple commercial video and the hugely popular trailer remix of The Shining.
Launched in 2006, The Webby Film and Video Awards is judged by a panel of more than 85 entertainment industry leaders that includes The Sundance Channel’s Larry Aidem, Director Darren Aronofsky, Showtime Chief Matt Blank, 20th Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopoulos, and Harvey Weinstein.
The 2009 winners will join the ranks of previous honorees such as The Onion News Network, Tay Zonday (“Chocolate Rain”), and Eepybird.com’s “The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments.”
Comedian and “30 Rock” star Judah Friedlander hosted the 2008 Webby Film and Video Awards ceremony, which featured Michel Gondry and Lorne Michaels delivering the Webbys’ famed five-word speeches as they accepted Special Achievement Awards. Other winners included “Hometown Baghdad,” National Geographic, and the cult instructional series “You Suck at Photoshop.”
Nominees will be announced in April 2009, and winners will be honored at a star-studded New York ceremony in June 2009.
About The Webby Awards
About The Webby Awards
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 12th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 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; Nokia; .ORG; Level 3; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Adweek; The New York Times; Variety; Wired; IDG; FirstMark Capital; Brightcove; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.