Inaugural Baja International Film Festival Announces Partnership With Virgin Produced And Launch Of The Baja International Film Festival -- Virgin Produced Screenplay Competition

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Oct 11, 2012, 06:06 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural Baja International Film Festival, to be held November 14-17 in Cabo, Mexico, today announced an exciting new partnership with Virgin Produced and the launch of the first annual Baja International Film Festival - Virgin Produced Screenplay Competition.

Beginning today, October 8^th, the Festival competition will accept feature-length screenplays in all genres until the submission deadline of October 26^th. Screenplays entered into the competition will be judged by a distinguished panel of film industry professionals and the winners will be announced on November 7^th.

The grand-prize winner will receive one complimentary luxury hotel stay during the Festival and two VIP all-access passes to all screenings and festival events, in addition to the winning screenplay being eligible for option consideration by Virgin Produced, the film and television arm of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. The top three finalists will be announced in an internationally disseminated press release, on the Festival website and through Festival and partner newsletters.

"We are thrilled to partner with Virgin Produced for the inaugural Baja International Film Festival screenplay contest," said Baja International Film Festival Founder and Festival Director Sean Cross. "The Virgin brand embodies all of the major elements we are seeking in our screenplay submissions: creativity, innovation, vision, and originality. To have Virgin as a partner for our first annual event is a great endorsement of the festival and of Los Cabos as a world-class destination."

"We are honored to be a partner in this inaugural year of the Baja International Film Festival," said Rene Rigal, Executive Vice President of Motion Pictures at Virgin Produced. "The festival's world class location combined with its unique approach in creating a platform to showcase international diversity of established and emerging filmmakers is a perfect fit for us. As a global brand, with a growing Latin America focus, we at Virgin Produced are proud to be part of the launch of BIFF ."

The Festival accepts only electronic submissions via the competition's Withoutabox page. Please visit Withoutabox for all submission guidelines and entry information. (https://www.withoutabox.com/03film/03t_fin/03t_fin_fest_01over.php?festview=&festival_id=11968).

ABOUT VIRGIN PRODUCED

Virgin Produced serves as the film and television development, packaging and production arm of the Virgin Group. Led by co-founders CEO Jason Felts and Chief Creative Officer Justin Berfield, Virgin Produced is breaking the corrosive mold of Old Hollywood by providing a collaborative environment that embraces talent so they can best create and inspire. With an equal focus on television and film, Virgin Produced, in its inaugural year, gained swift traction on the film front with their multi-year first look deal with Relativity Media, sharing in two back-to-back #1 box office successes with LIMITLESS and IMMORTALS. In April 2012, Virgin Produced launched its own television network, Virgin Produced Channel, which programs high quality lifestyle, music, travel, technology and comedy content to Virgin operating companies in the transportation, mobile, health club, hotel and retail industries which is estimated to include 60+ million loyal Virgin brand fans globally.

ABOUT THE BAJA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The inaugural Baja International Film Festival is co-founded by BIFF festival directors Scott Cross and Sean Cross, co-founders of the Colorado Film Institute and Vail Film Festival. Scott and Sean Cross also serve as the Festival's artistic directors alongside Jorge Sanchez Sosa, former director of the Guadalajara Film Festival. Nancy Collet, former Director of Programming at the American Film Institute, serves as Festival Senior Programmer. The Baja International Film Festival will include four days of special presentations, as well as competition screenings of feature films, documentaries, and short films, as well as nightly galas, panel discussions, filmmaker receptions, and award ceremonies. The festival is run by a bi-national team of experienced film and business managers who share a passion for bringing Mexican and U.S. cultures together through film. The Baja International Film Festival is supported by the Mexico Tourism Board and endorsed by the State of Baja California Sur and the Los Cabos Tourism Bureau as the Official Festival of Cabo, Mexico.