Aspiring Film Makers Have a Chance at Becoming 'Award-Winning Directors' With the Cingular Wireless Short Film Festival

Aspiring Film Makers Have a Chance at Becoming 'Award-Winning Directors' With the Cingular Wireless Short Film Festival - Brett Ratner, Director of the "Rush Hour" films and "Red Dragon," to Judge Film Student Portion of Contest - ATLANTA, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling all aspiring Hitchcocks, Spielbergs and Scorseses! Cingular Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the United States, is searching for film students and young customers to create 15-second film masterpieces on their wireless phones. The Cingular Wireless Short Film Festival, a national initiative, is offering cash and prizes for the best film shorts produced on video phones. There are two separate categories-one for college film students and the other for Cingular users ages 13 to 24. For the film student portion, the festival will be judged by Hollywood director Brett Ratner, a New York University film school graduate and director of nearly a dozen films. The competition runs through Jan. 31, 2005. "This unique program extends the idea that Cingular not only has the coolest products, but is also thinking outside of the box on how to use these products," said David Garver, Executive Director of National Acquisition for Cingular Wireless. "Who knows -- maybe our young customers can make the leap from short films on the very small screen to epics on the wide screen." To encourage participation among the film students, Cingular will provide, on a first come, first serve basis, Motorola V551 video phones. Film students who miss out on the loaner phones can still submit an entry if they have access to a VMS capable phone with Cingular service. The films can fit within different genres, including action, comedy, and experimental. Ratner will judge the films on specific criteria, including creativity, expression, and entertainment value. The overall student winner will receive a Motorola V551 phone, $500 in Cingular Gift Cards and $5,000 in cash. All submissions will be available for viewing on the http://rucingular.com/ film short microsite: http://rucingular.com/screeningroom . "The Cingular Wireless Short Film Festival provides film students with an interesting challenge, creating a piece of work that will contain enough content to tell a story within fifteen seconds," said Ratner. "I'm proud to support both Cingular and Motorola in this endeavor, and I am looking forward to viewing the entries." The consumer portion of the contest invites 13-24 year-olds, who have a VMS capable handset and Cingular Wireless service, to create their own 15- second short for submission. As with the film students, contestants are encouraged to express themselves, be as creative as they want, and have fun. All submissions that pass through the screening process will live online at http://rucingular.com/screeningroom , where consumers will be encouraged to vote for their favorites. Top vote-getters for each week of the contest will receive free ringtones and CDs, among other prizes. At the end of the festival, one grand-prize winner will receive a Motorola V551 phone stocked with ringtones, as well as 10 free movie passes and $5,000 in cash. Consumers can go to http://rucingular.com/screeningroom to receive additional information about the contest, including rules and submission guidelines. In addition, an interactive celebrity film short demo section, dubbed the V.I.P. Room, features 15-second film shorts from celebrities such as the Joint Chiefs, Bam, and The Donnas. These celebrity shorts are exclusive to http://rucingular.com/ . The site also features a mystery celebrity section where visitors have an opportunity to guess the identity of the celebrity based on their film. ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 46 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . Source: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Kelleigh Scott of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-6321, or kelleigh.scott@cingular.com ; or Clark Hare of Fleishman-Hillard, +1-212-453-2196, or harec@fleishman.com Web site: http://www.cingular.com/ http://rucingular.com/ http://rucingular.com/screeningroom http://www.cingular.com/newsroom ------- Profile: International Entertainment