Saturday, November 1---------The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) and BigStar.TV (BST) are working together on a new joint venture that will offer a broader range of opportunities for the independent filmmaker to showcase their work. “BigStar.TV and FLIFF have officially joined forces to develop a unique online short film competition, film screenings, and an innovative new plan that will streamline festival film trafficking, programming, decrease costs of shipping prints, discourage film piracy, and make festival films accessible to more viewers.” commented Gregory Von Hausch, FLIFF director.

The film competition will be open to filmmakers in three categories, professional, student, and amateur. The completion in its first year will accept short film entries, no longer than 5 minutes in length that will be viewed and selected by FLIFF programmers. The winning films of the competition will then be downloaded onto a DVD in HD and screened at this year's Festival.  Filmmakers will also receive global recognition and premium showcasing on the BigStar.TV website.

Sandy Mandelberger, FLIFF Dailies Editor