Tropfest Joins Forces With Leading Photo & Video Sharing App, Mobli, To Launch New Micro Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival has partnered with Mobli, a leading mobile photo and video sharing application, to launch the first Tropfest Micro Film Festival. The announcement was made last night at Tropfest Las Vegas by filmmaker and former Tropfest winner, Nash Edgerton, who pledged to release a micro film to kick off Mobli's Tropfest Micro Film Festival. The festival will run exclusively on Mobli through its designated Tropfest Micro Film Festival channel where submissions for the competition are currently being accepted for entry. Through Mobli's global social media platform, both filmmakers and novices around the world are provided with the unique opportunity to submit their entries and participate in the Tropfest Micro Film Festival. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $10,000 and the distinction of having their film screened at Tropfest Australia 2013 in front of an audience of approximately 150,000 attendees.

Behind the innovative collaboration between Tropfest and Mobli, is actor and filmmaker, Tobey Maguire. After attending Tropfest Australia 2012, Maguire envisioned a perfect synergy that would naturally develop from such a partnership. Since making the initial introductions between Mobli and Tropfest, Maguire has fostered the idea that Mobli's platform allows everyone to be a storyteller and that the platform has essentially developed the Tropfest Micro Film Festival as a "film festival in your pocket."

"What is most exciting to me about having designed and facilitated this partnership with Mobli and Tropfest is that the festival we've created engages everyone, and not only filmmakers," said Tobey Maguire, Mobli Investor. "We're all storytellers—and with a visual platform like Mobli, we're not just being given access to watch films at a festival, but to be active participants, no matter who we are or where we are in the world."

"Collaborating with Mobli on creating the Micro Film Festival has helped us make Tropfest that much more accessible to both audiences and filmmakers around the world," said John Polson, Tropfest Founder and Director. "What really inspired us about Tobey's idea to work with Mobli, was that this festival would allow so many creative people an opportunity to share a story that they may not have had otherwise. We're really excited to see what can happen in 70 seconds."

All qualifying entries for Mobli's Tropfest Micro Film Festival must be short films with a maximum length of 70 seconds that contain audible laughter. To enter, participants need to download the Mobli App (iOS) (Android) to their smartphone. Submissions must be uploaded to Mobli's Tropfest Micro Film Festival channel by January 15, 2013, where the public will then view and vote on their favorite submissions. A winner will be selected to receive a People's Choice Award with a special prize to be announced.

The Grand Prize Winner will be selected by a panel of industry insiders and celebrities which will also be announced at a later date. In addition to receiving $10,000, the Grand Prize Winner will be provided with airfare and five day hotel accommodations in Sydney to attend Tropfest Australia 2013, where their winning film will be screened. For a full list of contest rules visit tropfest.com/mobli-rules/ and for any questions e-mail [email protected]

Those who are interested in participating in the Tropfest Micro Film Festival competition can get additional information at www.tropfest.com/mobli.

ABOUT TROPFEST          

Tropfest is the world's largest short film festival. It began in a Sydney cafe ('The Tropicana') 20 years ago with a single $100 short film and an audience of 200 people. Today the Australian FREE event is attended annually by a live audience of over 150,000 film-lovers and hundreds of thousands more watching via its national, live TV broadcast and other platforms. Tropfest has recently launched in New Zealand, Arabia, and other territories, with China, South East Asia and more in planning stages.  In 2012, the global expansion continues with the launch into the USA with Tropfest Las Vegas and Tropfest New York. In the past two decades, Tropfest has become known as one of the world's most exciting launch-pads for emerging filmmakers. Tropfest is also known for securing the support of some of the biggest names in the international film community. Tropfest USA's Official Ambassadors include Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush, Charles Randolph and Anthony Lapaglia. The Tropfest YouTube Channel has had over 11 million video views, with around 40% of those coming from the United States. The Channel, http://www.youtube.com/tropfest, provides film enthusiasts the chance to watch the top films from past festivals. Tropfest's stated ambition is to propel talented filmmakers to great heights in their chosen career, regardless of their financial constraints, and to simultaneously bring quality, short film content to the masses. The vast majority of access to all Tropfest's global events is FREE for audiences.  For more information, please visit: www.tropfest.com.

ABOUT MOBLI

Mobli is a photo & video sharing community built to bring people together around common interests. Photos and videos are captured with Mobli's pro-level camera, beautified in Mobli's all-purpose Darkroom, then shared across multiple channels for maximum visibility. Mobli's unique multi-stream approach provides unmatched discovery potential and ensures visual media is only delivered to the most captive of audiences. Mobli is the premier place for making new friends, not just connecting with old ones. Mobli has seen significant celebrity adoption and provides its users with an intimate look into the lives of otherwise inaccessible personalities such as Lance Armstrong, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette, Kevin Hart, Tobey Maguire, Tyrese Gibson, Serena Williams, Adam Levine and many others. Uploading and content consumption are available via iOS, Android, Blackberry and via http://www.mobli.com

SOURCE Mobli