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FESTIVALS Denmark

Dogma Mobile connects

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Always at the forefront of innovation, Zentropa co-founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen, part of Filmmakers’ Independent Digital Distribution (FIDD) with Lars von Trier, Susanne Bier, Bille August and some 160 European filmmakers, has teamed up with Denmark’s public broadcaster DR and Nokia to create the first Dogma Mobile Film Festival.

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“With this festival, we want to explore the mobile film genre as an art form in its own right,” said festival director Niels Aalbæk Jensen (brother of Peter). “The mobile phone is an obvious tool for new filmmakers to create dogma films that push the limits of how films can be produced.”

To take part in this new film competition, any mobile phone owner can sign up at the website and submit his or her film made on a set subject matter, according to specific Dogma rules. But unlike the original Dogma 95, concept where filmmakers had to comply with strict rules, here they are allowed to create their own “Dogma manifest”.

Once they have taken the “vow of chastity”, they can make their film and upload it on the website. ”Unlike YouTube, where you find mostly ‘look at me’ films, we want to teach youngsters how to take the camera away from themselves and explore the world,” said Aalbæk Jensen.

The first competition – on the subject “If I Were President” – will be judged by professionals that include actress Isabella Rossellini; Aryan Kaganoff, mobile film director (South Africa); Ferhan Cook, mobile content expert (UK); Jukka-Pekka Laakso, Tampere Film Festival (Finland); and Søren Hyldgaard, film music composer (Denmark).

Candidates vying for the €3,000 cash prize have until December 31 to submit their mobile film. The winner will be announced on February 1, 2009.

Dogmamobile is part of FIDD’s new initiatives to make digital technology user-friendly to filmmakers and help them improve their skills. Founded in 2005, FIDD also operates the regional TV channel Skandinavia and the VOD portal Movieurope supported by the MEDIA Programme.

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