Aspen Film, in association with Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colo., announces a special opportunity exclusively for Colorado filmmakers, visual artists, and other media storytellers - DIGITAL POSTCARDS: Colorado, a new Aspen Shortsfest 2011 competition category. Selected finalists will screen as part of the festival's juried International Competition at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen next spring, where they will compete for the Oscar®-qualifying Best Short Short, as well as a cash prize. Additionally, a finalist may be recommended for one of the festival's Creative Consultation awards.

This competition category provides a unique chance for current Colorado residents, including full-time students, to participate in the 20th annual Aspen Shortsfest, April 5 - 10, 2011. Short films of four minutes or less that have been created in and/or are about Colorado, ideally using a Colorado setting, will be considered. Shorts should tell a story, profile a person, explore a place, express a quality or essence, capture a memory, or in some way convey the filmmaker's connection to the state.

"Colorado filmmakers have been an important part of Aspen Shortsfest, and we always look for opportunities to showcase their work," says Aspen Film Program Director George Eldred. "We're delighted to introduce DIGITAL POSTCARDS: Colorado as a new way of engaging regional media storytellers." The short short is a dynamic form of visual expression, and we believe this new category will generate a lot of interest."

Aspen Shortsfest is also now accepting submissions for its regular International Competition categories in live action, documentary, and animation. The entry deadline for International Competition is December 3, 2010; the late deadline is December 17, 2010. The submissions deadline for DIGITAL POSTCARDS: Colorado is January 14, 2011.

Complete competition guidelines are available at www.aspenfilm.org.

About Aspen Shortsfest

Recently named by Indiewire as one of the world's top-50 leading film festivals, Aspen Shortsfest is widely recognized as a premier North American showcase for short film and video. Each spring it draws talented filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world to celebrate the art of short cinema with enthusiastic audiences. Recent jurors and panelists have included actress Meg Ryan, producer Sarah Siegel-Magness (Precious), and directors Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), Julie Taymor (The Tempest), Paul Haggis (Crash), and Alexander Payne (Sideways).

Awarding cash and other prizes in several categories, Aspen Shortsfest is also recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival in its live-action and animated short film categories; these designated best-of-category winners may become eligible for Academy Award® consideration. Some past award winners garnering Oscars® or nominations include On the Line, Lavatory-Lovestory, The Substitute, Tanghi Argentini, The Danish Poet, and God Sleeps in Rwanda.

Aspen Shortsfest 2011 is sponsored by Colorado Creative Industries, the City of Aspen, The Aspen Times, Hotel Jerome, Sky Hotel, and Aspen Public Radio, with special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.