Babelgum Online Film Festival

Voting fever reigns at the first Babelgum Online Film Festival (BOFF) on Babelgum, the new interactive web TV portal. Over a thousand entries from 86 countries are available to anyone with broadband, reaching a potential global audience of 360 million.

The Babelgum Online Film Festival is the first of its kind, and provides a unique distribution opportunity for the newest filmmaking talent. A number of entries have been created specifically for the festival, proving that it is also generating new and original content.

Top Films of the week April 14/20: Get a grip on your life.....and enjoy!!  That seems to be the message from this week's most popular films in the Babelgum Online Film Festival, the first BOFF.  We can allow ourselves a little more pleasure, be brave in the face of adversity, move onwards and upwards even after we've been rejected and have faith.  We can make a difference too - either by crossing a border on a rocket or, on a serious note, looking for alternatives to oil.  Sure, we can take it too far, but as the top of the music category shows, true friends will always forgive us our excesses.

Animation - ITALY
Clito - This excellent piece of Italian cheekiness needs a little warning before you watch.  First, make sure your mother isn't standing behind you. Or your boss.  Clear? Now, you're ready to enjoy a hilarious and possibly educational film about the life and love life of our nether regions. 

Documentary - ITALY
GREATER - Defeating Aids - This film pulls together various stories about a group of Ugandan women who are HIV positive, but this is anything but a mainstream piece of work.  Inspiring characters, full of zest for life, tell us their stories, and show us their dances.

Looking for Genius - USA
Jilted - The Puppini Sisters - In this sumptuous 5 minute film (a budget of $4000? Impossible no?) we are told a story about a woman who's been dumped and takes her revenge on all the men who have ever left her.  Duel by Popcorn is just one of the original ideas here but the message is an old one:  hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  Be warned.
Music - NORWAY
Sondre Lerche - this is quirky and fun, just what you expect from the Norwegian music scene, but here we have a snappy tune and an engaging video to boot.  Sondre Lerche is the singer who manages to control the camera with his hands but the power goes to his head and he doesn't want to share the limelight with his band.  They turn into a horse-headed gang who chase him but it all works out fine in the end.  Scandinavian diplomacy in action.
Short Film - USA
Officer Down - Holding on to first place in this category, this is a compelling story about a bad cop turned good, or about faith working miracles.  This film just keeps on scoring highly with Babelgum audiences - it's a praise fest.  Strong writing, acting and direction.
Social/Environment - ITALY
Fill - A man fills up his car at a lonely petrol station and is haunted by the voices and sounds of all the suffering caused in the name of oil.  A single drop of blood drips as he replaces the pump.  This one appealed to Italian BOFFers in particular but anyone on this planet will appreciate its simplicity in conveying an important message.
Spot/Advertising - FRANCE
The Pocket Crossborder - An ad for the quickest and easiest way of crossing a border - be a human cannonball.  Only don't try this at home or on a border you can legitimately get across because helmet and armour are not included, ok?  This film rocketed in the Babelgum audience's views - no less than Charlie Kaufman wrote a post and George Lucas commented "may the force be with you".  Who said Babelgum doesn't have friends among Hollywood's royalty!

The Categories:

• The Babelgum Short Film Award
• The Babelgum Looking For Genius Award
• The Babelgum Animation Award
• The Babelgum Music Video Award
• The Babelgum Social / Environment Award
• The Babelgum Spot / Advertising Award

• The Babelgum Documentary Award                  

The Judging Process:
• Babelgum users are now voting in their thousands and having their say on who will become the next big filmmaking talent. A shortlist of films will be reached through a combination of factors: users' votes, the amount of times a film is viewed, the amount of posts and comments and the number of times a film is linked

• The shortlist will then be judged by the BOFF Jury, led by renowned director Spike Lee. The other jurors consist of film experts from across the globe, including the directors of established film festivals, film schools and film industry associations: