American Film Institute Launches 'Digital Content Festival' July 20 With Best Interactive and Digital Media From Around the World

American Film Institute Launches 'Digital Content Festival' July 20 With Best Interactive and Digital Media From Around the World

Day-Long Event Features Presentations from AOL, Fox, MTV, Showtime, BBC, EchoStar, Comcast, Sprint, (M)FORMA and others

New Slate of Productions Announced for AFI Digital Content Lab 2005 Cycle

LOS ANGELES, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- American Film Institute (AFI), which has been a leader in digital and interactive media training and innovation, announces the AFI Digital Content Festival, to be held on July 20 at AFI's Hollywood Campus. The day-long event showcases the best new digital and interactive content produced during the past year from around the world, with presentations including content created for television (both cable and satellite), mobile devices, games and broadband.

"With the Digital Content Festival, as well as in our year-round Digital Content Lab, AFI raises the bar for content and technology companies alike. Our intention is to inspire great work in these exciting new media forms and to provide a common ground for everyone who wants to create great entertainment in our shared digital future," stated AFI's Director and CEO, Jean Picker Firstenberg.

Speakers include Jonathan Miller, Chairman and CEO of AOL; Lucy Hood, President, Fox Mobile Entertainment; Jason Hirschhorn, SVP Digital Music & Media, MTV Networks; Robert Tercek, (M)FORMA; Roma Khanna, SVP Content, ChumTV (Canada); Philip Jay, BBC (UK); Fred McIntyre, Vice President of Video, AOL Music on Demand; Chris Lucas, Vice President/Executive Producer, Digital Media, Showtime Networks Inc.; Robert Chua, Founder, The Interactive Channel (Hong Kong); Paul Marcum, Vice President, Interactive Media Group, Sesame Street Workshop; Michael Goldstein, Project Manager, Interactive Programming, Echostar; Mugs Buckley, Interactive Sales Manager, Comcast Spotlight; and Philip Alvelda, CEO, Idetic (the company behind MobiTV).

The AFI Digital Content Festival is presented by the newly relaunched AFI Digital Content Lab, formerly the Enhanced Television Workshop. For more than seven years, this collaborative production workshop has paired television and content companies with technology and design innovators to prototype next-generation interactive applications, many of which are now being brought to market. Last December, the institute announced that the program, which previously had one annual application cycle, would now accept applications throughout the year and a selection board would consider projects every quarter.

Six content companies have been accepted for production or development projects in the AFI Digital Content Lab, beginning this month: A&E Television Networks, Reuters, Simmons Lathan Media Group, Telemundo, WWE and Zodiac Gaming LLC.

They join an illustrious group of alumni from recent years, including ABC, Disney Channel, Discovery Networks, HBO, Showtime, CNN, Turner Classic Movies, Bravo, MTV, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, WGBH, KCET, KQED, ITVS and 35 others.

Sponsoring the Festival is Intel Corporation, the world's leading designer and manufacturer of microprocessors. Intel was the founding sponsor of the AFI Enhanced Television Workshop, and is a key enabler of the "digital home" strategy.

The AFI Digital Content Lab is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Microsoft Corporation.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center. As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival and SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival, while offering year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 32 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

Source: American Film Institute

CONTACT: Alison Deknatel, +1-323-856-7896, adeknatel@AFI.com, or Erin Hurff, +1-323-856-7603, ehurff@AFI.com, both of American Film Institute

Web site: http://www.afi.com/

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