54th San Francisco International Film Festival Announces the Esurance Online Screening Room

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21–May 5) and Esurance, the direct-to-consumer car insurance company, today announced the Esurance Online Screening Room, available beginning Tuesday, March 29, at 12:00 pm. For the first time in its history, SFIFF, teaming up with Esurance, will give audiences around the world a chance to visit the Festival virtually and view a sample of the shorts programs.

"We're very excited to be expanding our online initiatives," said Audrey Chang, programmer of the Esurance Online Screening Room. "Through this program we'll be able to bring the films of SFIFF54 directly to visitors all around the globe. Each of the shorts was selected to give those who can't join us in San Francisco a sampling of the exemplary work on display during the Festival."

"The Esurance Online Screening Room speaks to the San Francisco International Film Festival's commitment to making the Festival truly a global event," stated Darren Howard, Esurance vice president of marketing. "As a technology innovator in the insurance industry, Esurance makes car insurance easier and more convenient for people. Similarly, this unique Online Screening Room platform utilizes technology to bring an extraordinary film showcase to cinema enthusiasts anywhere in the world through their computers or mobile devices, creating an exceptional viewing experience for SFIFF fans."

Five short films will be made available in the Esurance Online Screening Room. These films will include Young Dracula and Self Portrait as a PowerPoint Proposal for an Amusement Park Ride, each made by Bay Area filmmakers. Additional films being shown will be Get with the Program, Into the Middle of Nowhere and Delmer Builds a Machine.

Young Dracula, Alf Seccombe. A misunderstood adolescent boy runs away from home and is picked up by a family that makes him feel relatively normal.  

Self Portrait as a PowerPoint Proposal for an Amusement Park Ride, Jonn Herschend. Not so much animation as motion graphics, this entirely text-based narrative is as engaging as it is ridiculous.  

Delmer Builds a Machine, Landon Zakheim. In this wordless comic gem, a tiny engineering genius builds an unusual device made up of sundry items, with calamitous results.

Get with the Program, Jennifer Drummond Deutrum. This indispensable short answers two age-old conundrums: "Tell me why my love is hot" and "Should I have a cell phone attached directly to my head?"

Into the Middle of Nowhere, Anna Francis Ewert. This warm and funny film lovingly captures the wonder of childhood as kids explore and test boundaries of reality through play and imagination.

The Online Screening Room was first introduced with the help of Esurance at the 2010 San Francisco International Animation Festival and is now making its SFIFF debut.      

For information visit fest11.sffs.org.

For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.

54th San Francisco International Film Festival

The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21–May 5, 2011 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the Castro Theatre, New People and SFMOMA in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country's most beautiful city, featuring 15 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 75,000+ people.

San Francisco Film Society

Building on a 50-plus year legacy of bringing the best in world cinema to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services.

The Film Society presents 300 days of exhibition each year, reaching a total audience of 130,000 people. Its acclaimed education program introduces international cinema and media literacy to more than 15,000 teachers and students and presents 120 classes and workshops annually. Through the filmmaker services program essential creative and business services, and funding totaling millions of dollars, are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.

The Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and a wealth of other benefits.

For more information visit sffs.org.

Esurance

Esurance, a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM), provides personal car insurance direct to consumers online and through select agents, including sister company, Answer Financial. Esurance is dedicated to constantly improving the way people shop for, buy, and manage their car insurance. By combining the best of technology with industry know-how, Esurance is able to offer hassle-free coverage with 24/7 customer service and claims handling at competitive prices.

Through Esurance's website, esurance.com, customers can get instant car insurance quotes, view comparison quotes, buy an Esurance policy, and print their insurance cards— all in minutes. Esurance also offers policyholders the ability to make policy changes and file claims instantly online, demonstrating its commitment to improving the entire insurance process from quote to claim.

Answer Financial, also a subsidiary of White Mountains, is one of the largest independent personal lines insurance agencies in the country. Answer Financial offers comparison quotes and provides car and property insurance from more than a dozen top-rated insurance companies through its website, answerfinancial.com, and over the phone.

This press release is available at sffs.org/press.

SOURCE Esurance