Editor

I'VE SEEN FILMS, together with its founder Rutger Hauer, announced today that, while warmly welcoming back as members of the International Jury, Mrs. Miranda Richardson (Dance with a Stranger, Empire of the Sun, The Crying Game, Damage, Sleepy Hollow, The Phantom of the Opera, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Young Victoria, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Mr. Anton Corbijn (U2: The Best of 1990-2000, Linear, Some YoYo Stuff, Control, The American), it can also count on an international distinguished panel that includes Roberto Faenza (Copkiller, The Bachelor, Jonah Who Lived in the Whale, According to Pereira, Lost Lover, The Soul Keeper), Bill Bristow (Who Are They, Prosit Ermanno! The Swan, Fleas), Takehito Kuroha (Lookin' for Real Violence, Clacson, Roulette) and filmmaking experts such as Grazyna Torbicka, Cesare Vergati and Flavia Costa.

The unparalleled asset of this Festival is the representation by the International Jury, which gives filmmakers the rare opportunity to have their works judged and commented upon by such an accomplished array of top filmmaking professionals.

The film submission window will close on Monday, April 5, 2010, but the Festival's organization would like to thank all the authors who have already so enthusiastically accepted this challenge. The artistic quality of the feature and short films already received, far exceeds the most positive expectations.

The 2010 International Competition - further to the main film categories - will include a special section dedicated to works dealing with themes and images from Arts (painting, sculpture, theater, poetry and literature). The Culture Department of the Milano Municipality will assign a prize to this category's winner.

To allow wider and wider viewership of our authors' works, one of I'VE SEEN FILMS initiatives is also the  Internet Contest, in which film authors have the possibility to participate. Last year, the authors who were selected to have their works compete in this online contest, received a staggering number of more than 1,500,000 views.

In addition to the competing feature and short films, this year's Festival edition will also include a special tribute dedicated to an internationally renowned filmmaker.

Regione Lombardia's Culture Identità e Autonomie della Lombardia Department, the Culture Department of Milano Municipality, Centre Culturel Français de Milan, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, Microcinema Digital Network, 20th Century Fox, Best Movie, MyMovies.it, the Rutger Hauer FilmFactory, EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture), and Goethe Institute Mailand have already offered their cooperation to this year's Festival edition.

The Festival's Media Partner is CNR Media who, through its radio, television and website (http://www.cnrmedia.com/)  network, will keep the audience up to date on the Festival's news.

I'VE SEEN FILMS was founded by Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, The Hitcher, Ladyhawke, The Legend of the Holy Drinker, Sin City, Batman Begins, etc.), with the aim of promoting, in an independent way and on a world-wide basis, the works of filmmakers desiring powerful exposure and visibility to their films. 

During the 2009 edition, authors arriving from all four corners of the world - Denmark, Argentina, Colombia, UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Spain, etc. -  did not want to miss this important gathering with the international filmmaking world. Their works were screened in a masterfully high-definition digitalized version, which allowed for an extraordinary screening quality. This format garnered enthusiastic praises from audience and film authors alike. This important technical aspect will also be one of the pluses for this year's edition.

A video of the 2009 Award evening is available on this link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTgU1L4O3vg

The I'VE SEEN FILMS 2010 screening venues are the Gnomo Milano Cinema (a downtown theater recently renovated with Digital Cinema equipment), kindly set at the Festival's disposal by the Culture Department of the Milano Municipality, and the Centre Culturel Français de Milan.  A third screening venue will be announced soon.

I'VE SEEN FILMS is creating an innovative way of linking the new millennium medium to the firmly established cultural film festival tradition, with Rutger Hauer at the helm, personally awarding the Festival winners during an evening that will take place in the prestigious Royal Palace in Milan. In the true ‘I've Seen Films' tradition, the Award Evening will evolve into an unforgettable moment that makes filmmakers the real protagonists of the Festival. 
http://www.icfilms.org/