Editor

The world’s first International Portable Film Festival (IPFF) will be launching in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday the 20th of March. The Festival is designed to be viewed entirely on portable video devices such as iPods, 3G phones and PlayStation Portables so there are no cinemas, no cues, no closed doors, no e-scalpers and no barriers to audiences seeing the films they want, when they want.

It’s is the first of its kind to be delivered entirely through a videocast - a new but simple technology that allows audio and video to be delivered effortlessly to computers and portable devices. Viewers are able to subscribe to the Festival and have the entire program delivered to their portable devices.

The IPFF Festival Competition will commence in July 2006 and feature a range of films selected through an international call for entries process, which is now open. The Festival will run similar to existing film festivals including localised events, however, the program itself will be screened internationally on portable devices rather than in traditional cinema settings.

The Festival kicks off with a series of special programs that will precede the Festival Competition to provide viewers with a taste of what is possible through portable filmmaking. Andrew Apostola and Simon Goodrich – the Melbourne based creators of the IPFF - believe that recent developments in broadband and portable viewing technology are about to revolutionise the way in which audiences traditionally view entertainment.