Merging story and technology since its inception in 2009, behind the scene Success Stories are being shared at the 9th Annual New Media Film Festival. Empowering and intriguing, awards help navigate the content creators world in many ways.

For the purposes of honoring stories worth telling, festival organizers screen films in a state of the art theater, and present Best of Category, Audience, and Grand Prize awards each year. In addition, opportunities and connections are made outside of the festival process. If there was an award for cool things that happen at a festival, these are some of those successes that would make the list.

'Hello World' Directed by Asa Hammond and Tarik Abdel-Gawad

San Jose based drone and robotics company, PRENAV, is developing autonomous commercial drones that are directed by computer vision. The company was founded in 2013 with the mission of solving autonomous flight in complex environments and has since developed a state-of-the-art system that is the future of drone technology. To display their drone’s aerial precision, PRENAV composed a short video called “Hello World”. Directed by Asa Hammond and Tarik Abdel-Gawad, "Hello World" uses PRENAV drones to create animated light displays.

"Hello World" was entered into the 2016 new media Film Festival where it received the award for Best Drone.

The short video was able to show off PRENAV’s cutting-edge drone technology and PRENAV has since acquired $6.5 million in funding from lead investor Crosslink Capital. PRENAV also has an array of other investors including Haystack, Liquid 2 Ventures, WI Harper Group, Pejman Mar Ventures, Toivo Annus, and many more. They will be using this funding for further product development, sales, and marketing.

“PRENAV is solving a fundamental gap in the drone ecosystem around automated flight up close to structures,” said Founder and CEO of PRENAV, Nathan Schuett. “By unlocking this capability, we make drone technology accessible and affordable for many industries that are underserved by today’s off-the-shelf drones.

We’re thrilled to have such prestigious investors joining us in our mission."

Randy Bellous and Eye Care 4 Kids

President & Executive Producer of Register 9 Productions LLC and New Media Film Festival board member, Randy Bellous, met a panelist’s mother, at the festival, and introduced her to Joseph Carbone, President & CEO of Eye Care 4 Kids, a nonprofit organization that gives free eye exams and eyeglasses to children in need. Then, they teamed up to bring Eye Care 4 Kids to Vientiane, Laos.

In 2014, Bellous and a group of nine volunteers, including Eye Care 4 Kids Director, Jan Carbone, traveled to Laos where they provided a Mahosot Hospital with contemporary equipment, trained staff on proper eye care practices and provided free eye exams and glasses to the locals.

In their five day trip to Laos, 2400 men, women, and children were provided with eye exams and glasses.

New Media includes all ages, all cultures, and all media. By doing so, something as simple as a cell phone or as complex as VR gear can capture a story. In addition, the story can run the length it needs to be to get take the audience on a journey. New Media Film Festival has programmed content as short as ten seconds total running time. For its inaugural year, this film leads us to another success story.

'The Beast'

"The Beast" directed by Rhodery C. Montgomery and shot in 1995, screened at the 2010 New Media Film Festival. This short, sci-fi film, a chilling courtroom vignette about an intelligent chimpanzee that stands trial, has screened all over the world and has won multiple awards.

Originally shot on 35mm, New Media Film Festival’s screening of The Beast was the last time the film was shown in its original format as it was disintegrating. The Beast’s screening at the festival gave Montgomery further exposure and helped him gain backers for his next project.

Julian McCrea, CEO, and Founder of Portal Experiences, a non-fiction, virtual reality entertainment company that distributes, finances and produces original IP, was a part of the tech panel at the 2016 New Media Film Festival. An audience member was so inspired by McCrea’s passion for Virtual Reality; they decided to fund his upcoming project, Flatline Experience, which was also Portal Experiences first production.

This virtual reality experience lets the participant face an actual, near death incident.

Flatline Experience, co-produced by Brain Factory and 3DLive, has achieved commercial and critical acclaim. It has also been featured in The Huffington Post, VR Shop and on NPR (KPCC "The Frame"). At the 2017 New Media Film Festival, Flatline Experience had its LA Premiere. Joined by Julian McCrea, festival goers got to try the VR experience described by The Huffington Post as “mystical, amazing and deep”.

'Deadly Revisions'

Actor, Director, and Playwright, Gregory Blair, was part of the Snipler: 30 Second Pitch category at the 2012 New Media Film Festival. Sniplers - snippets of a trailer - are 30-second spots that are the stepping stones to films funded, made and viewed in a longer format. Blair screened the trailer for his upcoming horror film, "Deadly Revisions," initially titled "Scare Tactics." "Deadly Revisions" stars Bill Oberst Jr.

as, Grafton Torn, a horror writer, and filmmaker who mysteriously wakes up from a coma having no recollection of the events that led to his coma.

Blair’s prospective backers were so impressed with his pitch at the New Media Film Festival; they decided to fund the feature-length version of "Deadly Revisions." The film began pre-production in 2012 and had its world premiere in Los Angeles in January of 2013. The film was also Blair’s directorial debut. "Deadly Revisions" was received positively by critics and received multiple awards.

The 9th Annual New Media Film Festival will take place in Los Angeles CA Saturday, June 16 and Sund, y June 17, 2018 at James Bridges Theatre 235 Charles E Young Dr N 90095 www.NewMediaFilmFestival.com

All photos by Anglesea Newman - New Media Film Festival Social Media Maven.
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