IFC and Comcast Select Detroit as Destination for National Traveling Free Film Fest

IFC and Comcast Select Detroit as Destination for National Traveling Free Film Fest

Comcast Expands IFC Coverage in Metro Detroit

Search is on for Best Filmmaker in Detroit -- Area Filmmakers to be Showcased at Film Fest; $5000 Prize to be Awarded

Uncut Versions of Indie Favorites Raising Arizona, The Princess Bride and Napoleon Dynamite Will Be Featured on a State-Of-The-Art Outdoor Video System

DETROIT, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- IFC and Comcast announced today that Detroit has been selected as a destination for the IFC Free Film Fest -- a state-of-the-art, multimedia 10-city independent film tour. IFC and Comcast are inviting local residents to enjoy a three-day, fun and multifaceted independent film experience at Martin Road Park, beginning on August 28th and running through August 30th. In addition, Comcast announced that it will be expanding its IFC coverage within metro Detroit. Starting August 22nd Comcast subscribers can view the network on digital cable channel 164.

Open to the public at no cost, the tour will screen uncut indie films within a high-tech outdoor mini-entertainment complex in ten total cities across the country. Detroit will be the eighth stop on the tour, which kicked off in Philadelphia on July 10.

The IFC Free Film Festival, which is locally sponsored by Tapper's Diamonds and Fine Jewelry, Michigan's most prestigious luxury jewelry retailer, will also include: important opportunities for local filmmakers; an on-site collection of new and used DVDs which will be donated to a local hospital; and a chance for attendees to win an HD camera:

   -- Local Detroit filmmakers have the opportunity to submit their shorts as      part of a contest which offers a $5000 prize to the winner and the      opportunity to have that film screened on IFC.  The winner will be      announced on the final night of the Film Fest by Evan Shapiro, EVP and      General Manager, IFC.  Local filmmakers in the Detroit metro area must      submit films by August 24th and may find out more information about      contest rules and regulations by visiting:      http://medialab.ifc.com/detroitfilmcontest.  In addition, several other      local filmmakers will be showcased at the IFC Media Lab Lounge, which      is free and open to the public.    -- IFC and Comcast are partnering with Kid Flicks, a non-profit      organization founded in 2002 by two teenaged girls, the Barta sisters,      to collect DVDs to donate to hospitals.  Local residents are encouraged      to bring to the festival new and/or used DVDs that appeal to the age      groups of toddlers through teenagers.  The videos collected at the      on-site donation box will be donated to Henry Ford Hospital's pediatric      unit.    -- HD Camera Giveaway -- Event-goers visiting the Media Lab Lounge can      enter to win a new JVC HD camera by filling out a simple form and      dropping it in the designated locations when exiting the lounge.  Forms      will be available each night.  The winner will be randomly selected      from the entries and notified within several days of the event.   

Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to stop by the Comcast tent and learn more about the integrated Comcastic experience, including Comcast's Triple Play of digital cable, digital voice and high-speed Internet services.

The IFC Free Film Fest adds a new dimension to the network's mission to make indie films more accessible to movie-goers across the country and seek new ways to expand the audience for independent filmmakers. IFC's 'tv,uncut' mantra will ring true with uncut screenings of each of the three films including the Coen Brothers cult hit, Raising Arizona; the family-friendly fairy tale classic The Princess Bride; as well as the unconventionally humorous Napoleon Dynamite. All films will be shown on a 40' x 20' inflatable air screen constructed specifically by IFC for the tour. The films will begin at dusk, following a variety of pre-show activities, including musical entertainment. Additional information may be found at: http://www.ifc.com/static/sections/freefilmfest/.

"With this traveling Film Festival, IFC and Comcast bring great, uncut, independent films out of the theater and under the stars -- for film fans of all ages," said Evan Shapiro, EVP and General Manager, IFC. "In addition to three great indie films, we'll be showcasing young, undiscovered digital filmmakers in our Media Lab Lounge, where people can check out short films by local directors. This tour literally brings the IFC brand to life."

"We're excited to bring this event to our communities because it's a great way for us to showcase the wide of range of entertainment provided by the IFC," said David Buhl, Regional Senior Vice President Michigan Region for Comcast. "IFC has been a great programming partner, and in 2006, we added IFC in Theaters to our ON DEMAND lineup, bringing independent theatrical movies to customers across the country so they enjoy them on their schedules, from the comfort of their own homes, on the same days the movies are released theatrically."

The event kicks off each night at 6:00 PM with a host of pre-show activities including an old-fashioned bouncing ball onscreen sing-along to a song from one of the movies that will screen during the event; the films will begin at sunset. Parking is available near Woodward Heights and Huron Street.

In addition to Detroit, the national tour, which is sponsored by Tourism Australia, Scion, eMusic, Focus Features and Entertainment Weekly, will also travel to: Boston, 9/4 -- 9/6; and Albuquerque, 9/11 -- 9/13. The IFC Free Film Fest, which is produced by IFC and the michael alan group, has already traveled to Philadelphia; Atlanta; Miami; Memphis; Denver; San Francisco; and Seattle.

About IFC:

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent film 24 hours a day, uncut, uncensored and commercial free. The network is part of IFC Companies -- the only brand to operate in every area of independent film to include television, production, financing, distribution, digital, on-demand and exhibition. IFC Companies uses its unique cross-platform position to broaden the audience of independent film and to provide independent filmmakers with a strong voice. IFC Companies is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC.

About Comcast:

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) (NASDAQ:CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.1 million cable customers, 12.4 million high-speed Internet customers, and 3.5 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

About Kid Flicks:

Kid Flicks was founded by the Barta sisters in 2002. After donating videos that they no longer watched to the local Pediatric Oncology Department of a Los Angeles hospital where a friend had recently had been treated, the girls learned from a Child Life Specialist that "movies are the first things kids ask for when they are in the hospital." The operation has since grown and now delivers movie libraries of 100 assorted films that appeal to boys and girls, toddlers through teenagers, to hospitals throughout the country. As of June, 2007, Kid Flicks has donated 23,300 movies to 233 different hospitals throughout the United States, including Sparrow Hospital Children's Hospital in Lansing; Children's Hospital at Bronson Methodist in Kalamazoo; DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids; C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; and Children's Hospital of Michigan. The ultimate goal of Kids Flicks is to provide every children's hospital and pediatric department in the country with a Kid Flicks "movie library."

Source: Rainbow Media

CONTACT: Patrick Paterno of Comcast, +1-248-233-4608,
patrick_paterno@cable.comcast.com; or Olivia Dupuis of IFC, Rainbow Media,
+1-212-324-4748, ojdupuis@rainbow-media.com

Web site: http://www.ifc.com/static/sections/freefilmfest
http://www.comcast.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment