Ovation Announces New Short Film Contest for Directors

Winning Films to Air on Ovation and Showcased at LACMA

Santa Monica, CA -- March 10, 2010   Ovation, the only television network dedicated to art and contemporary culture, announced today that is it launching a new Short Film Contest for aspiring directors.  The channel will promote the new contest to filmmakers attending the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Awards on March 16.  Ovation is a title sponsor of the Film Awards Reception and Awards ceremony and will join Time Warner Cable in presenting the Young Filmmakers Scholarship, which is administered through the Austin Film Society.

To enter the Ovation Short Film Contest, directors are encouraged to go to www.ovationtv.com/filmcontest for the entry form and instructions.  Qualifying films will be under 20 minutes in length.  Submissions must be received by May 14.

Short film entries will be designated and judged in the categories of Comedy, Drama, Animation and Documentary.  Winners will be determined in the categories of Top Film, Viewers’ Choice, Best of Comedy, Best of Drama, Best of Animation and Best of Documentary.

Ovation has gathered a distinguished panel of judges to review the submissions, including Ron Magliozzi, Assistant Curator, Department of Film at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Ian Birnie, Consulting Curator, Film Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); Lisel Copland, Agent at William Morris Endeavor, Global Finance & Distribution Group; Jamie Patricof, Producer; and Charles Segars, CEO of Ovation and creator of Disney’s National Treasure movie franchise.

“We are so pleased to be able to offer this kind of showcase to new directors,” said Charles Segars.  “Just being able to get their work in front of some of my fellow judges is a wonderful opportunity, but ultimately, winners will have a chance to show their films to a larger audience -- both on Ovation and as part of LACMA’s celebrated film screening program.”

Viewers’ Choice voting begins May 24.  All winners will be announced on June 7. Both the Top Film and the Viewers’ Choice winners will have their films air on Ovation during the network’s “American Revolutionaries:  The Directors” programming event in July.  Both winners will also have their films screened at LACMA.  The winner in each of the four additional categories -- Comedy, Drama, Animation and Documentary -- will receive on air and online promotion via Ovation and OvationTV.com, as well as an HD Flip Video Camera.

For more information, entry guidelines and rules, visit http://www.ovationtv.com/filmcontest.

About Ovation
Ovation is the only multi-platform network devoted to art and contemporary culture. The network creates and curates one-of-a-kind programming about all the art people enjoy most, from the popular to the avant-garde and everything in between. The channel reaches a national audience of 38 million households through carriage on DirecTV (channel 274), Dish Network (channel 157) and on cable and telco systems in major markets across the country. Ovation’s programming is also available on video on demand (in both standard and high definition) in the US. Ovation’s popular website (http://www.OvationTV.com) is a dynamic experience, featuring information about local and national happenings in the art world, as well as a vibrant community of artists who have uploaded over 100,000 pieces of original art.

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CONTACT:  

Patricia Frith
Patricia Frith Marketing (for Ovation)
Tel:  818 876-0480
Email:  pfmarketing@roadrunner.com
Twitter:  ovationtvpr