IFC’s Independent Media Lab is a web/TV integrated program that provides filmmakers a destination for posting independent films online, offers viewers the chance to watch and vote on those films, and places the top, viewer-ranked films on IFC’s air in a special Independent Media Lab weekly show.

Have you ever seen the short film, “Frosty vs. Jesus?” This was an animated film that was made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone when they were in college. The film was passed around virally, eventually catching the eye of a TV executive who liked what he saw and asked Parker and Stone to create an animated show. Ever heard of South Park?

More than ever before, “amateurs” like Parker and Stone are making films. The continually dropping prices of digital cameras, personal computers, desktop editing software, and camera phones are contributing to this trend, allowing practically anybody in the world to express themselves on film.
IFC will scout that talent and pull in those films, further establishing filmmaker outreach as one of IFC’s core missions. IFC will continue to nurture young, undiscovered artists, cultivate talent, and find that next
“Frosty vs. Jesus.”

In short, the Independent Media Lab will bring in short films, allow them to be virally vetted by an audience, and then create new programming (like South Park) from them.
http://www.filmfestivals.com/htm/ifcmedialab/medialab.shtml