Microsoft to Sponsor IFP Market Short Film Award At 25th Anniversary Celebration

NEW YORK and REDMOND, Wash. — Expanding their collaboration insupport of independent film, Microsoft Corp. and IFP/New York todayannounced Microsoft’s sponsorship of the IFP Market Award forShort Films, to be presented during the 25th anniversary of the IFP/NewYork Film Market Sept. 21–26 in New York City.

Five films from the IFP Market have been nominated for the ShortFilm Award and will be voted on by a respected jury of filmmakers,including Sarah Green (producer of “Frida,”“Girlfight”), Geraldine Peroni (editor of “ThePlayer,” “Short Cuts”) and Jay Russell (director of“Ladder 49,” “My Dog Skip”).

The winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000 at the closing nightceremony hosted by Lee Daniels and Rosie Perez on Sept. 25. Thenominated films are “I Will If You Will,” directed byClayton Brown; “La Puppè,” directed by Tim Greenberg;“Like Twenty Impossibles,” directed by Anne Marie Jacir;“five deep breaths,” directed by Seith Mann; and“Pilgrims,” directed by Steven Myers.

In addition, the five nominated filmmakers were commissioned byIFP/New York and Microsoft to create original“independence”-themed short films. Each filmmaker was given$1,000, a digital video camera and two weeks to shoot the commissionedfilms as part of the 25th anniversary observance. All five shorts wereprojected digitally utilizing the Windows Media 9 Series platform atNew York’s famed Angelika Film Center on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

“We are delighted to have the support of Microsoft and its newWindows Media 9 Series platform again at the IFP Market,” saidMichelle Byrd, executive director of IFP/New York. “Thispartnership enables us to put new technology directly into the hands ofemerging filmmakers.”

“The IFP/New York Market proves once again that it is a leaderin the celebration of excellence in digital filmmaking,” saidDave Fester, general manager of the Windows® Digital MediaDivision at Microsoft. “The growth of our partnership withIFP/New York illustrates Microsoft’s dedication to theindependent film community, in addition to our commitment to providethe highest-quality, most cost-effective digital mediatools.”

About IFP

IFP/New York is a 25-year-old, not-for-profit membershiporganization serving the independent film community. The mission of IFPis to build bridges between creative talent and the film industry,providing invaluable information, resources, and avenues ofcommunication. IFP’s host of programs help artists working infilm and emerging technologies to navigate the industry, facilitate newmarketplaces, and develop new audiences. Celebrating its 25th year as aleading proponent of independent filmmakers, IFP is a crucial sourcefor networking and support while promoting film as a vital andinfluential public art form.

About Windows Media

Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, used byconsumers, content providers, solution providers, software developersand corporations throughout the world. The Windows Media 9 Seriesplatform includes Windows Media Player 9 Series; Windows Media Services9 Series, the powerful streaming server feature in Windows Server 2003for distributing content; Windows Media Encoder 9 Series for contentcreation; Windows Media Audio and Video 9 Series for the best-qualityaudio and video; Windows Media Digital Rights Management to helpprotect content; and the Windows Media Software Development Kit forsoftware developers to develop digital media products and services.Windows Media Player, available in 26 languages, is now the leadingmedia player. More information about Windows Media can be found at www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is theworldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies forpersonal and business computing. The company offers a wide range ofproducts and services designed to empower people through greatsoftware—any time, any place and on any device.