BitTorrent, Inc., home to the world's leading peer-assisted file distribution platform, today announced its support for the 7th annual Duke City Shootout, the first international script-to-screen digital filmmaking competition. BitTorrent is collaborating with the Digital Filmmaking Institute (DFI), which oversees the Duke City Shootout week-long filmmaking festival, to deliver all of the digital shorts from the past six festivals. Beginning today, the shorts, 42 in total, will be available for download at www.bittorrent.com.

BitTorrent's peer-assisted technology provides an effective platform to quickly publish and download rich, high-quality content on the Internet to a worldwide audience. Thus, BitTorrent is a natural partner to facilitate the online distribution of the catalog of Duke City digital short films. Under the agreement, BitTorrent will have the distribution rights to old films, new films and animation productions created and backed by DFI or the Shootout.

"By teaming with DFI and supporting festivals such as the Duke City Shootout, BitTorrent is giving independent artists an audience they wouldn't otherwise reach," said Ashwin Navin, President of BitTorrent. "Although festivals showcase some of the best entertainment created today, most of these films never reach a global audience. We expect the indie film community to gain tremendously from the advent of high-quality Internet video distribution."

Started in 2000, the Duke City Shootout is an annual short filmmaking competition. Each year, the Festival conducts a worldwide search for 12-minute original screenplays and selects seven winners. The winning writers are then invited to Albuquerque, New Mexico in July to shoot, edit and debut their movies, all in one week. The festival and its partners provide cast, crew, digital cameras, locations, catering, editing facilities, producers and industry mentors. This year's Festival takes place July 21 to 29.

"By partnering with BitTorrent, our participating artists have access to the world's most efficient distribution platform for rich digital content," said Reggie Russell, CEO of DFI. "Furthermore, with 65 million BitTorrent users worldwide, Shootout filmmakers both past and present will now be able to showcase their works beyond the confines of the festival."

The Duke City Shootout is the only film festival dedicated to bringing artists' visions from "script to screen" in one week. It is a venue for independent filmmakers to get their films made. www.dukecityshootout.org.