The Chattanooga Film Festival teams up with Microsoft and Mediakind to present an interactive virtual festival
With the Chattanooga Film Festival having originally been slated for April 16 - 19, 2020, organizers made the hard, but necessary, decision in March to postpone the festival amid the global health pandemic.
In looking for a way to provide entertainment and community for everyone sheltering-in-place, the Chattanooga Film Festival has been offered an exciting opportunity to work with Microsoft and its partners MediaKind, Evergent, VisualOn and Slalom, to present a full, four-day interactive, virtual version of the physical festival, targeted for mid-May.
This unique event will provide attendees with the ability to connect, discuss and network in real time while enjoying the Chattanooga Film Festival’s features, shorts, panels and live events by using communications and media technology in new collaborative ways.
The festival’s feature and short films will be streamed through MediaKind’s MediaFirst TV Platform hosted on Azure. Films will only be accessible during the festival’s four days. Microsoft Teams live events will power post-film Q&As, panels, and live events. Supported by integrations with Evergent and VisualOn, the film community and cinephiles in the United States will be able to purchase badges that allow them access the event from any device and interact with up and coming filmmakers and respected industry experts.
Proceeds will benefit the Chattanooga Film Festival, an official 501(c)(3). In an effort to help the filmmakers who participate, the festival will pay-it-forward by splitting part of the proceeds with them. Virtual badges will be capped at 30,000 attendees and are available from $10 for one-day access, $30 for full four-day access, and VIP access for $100. The VIP pass will allow folks to gain access to a few additional titles and provide the opportunity to give extra support to the festival and the filmmakers.
As always, the Chattanooga Film Festival’s programming will have exciting world premieres, lovingly curated cult classics and everything in between. In addition to their signature film programming, the Chattanooga Film Festival is planning an eclectic array of live events to replicate the experience of their festival. An official lineup will be released in the coming weeks, along with official dates.
Executive director and lead programmer, Chris Dortch II says, “In addition to the films we screen every year, the heart and soul of the festival are the friends we make and the community. When Microsoft approached us with this idea, we knew it meant the difference for the Chattanooga Film Festival surviving as an arts nonprofit. We are excited to innovate with Microsoft and MediaKind to deliver a virtual film festival that helps our community connect during these times.”
To sign up to be notified when official dates are announced and when you can purchase virtual badges, please fill out for the form below.
About the Chattanooga Film Festival:
The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) loves everything about cinema: the films, filmmakers and the open-minded cinephiles that have watched films with us since early popup screenings as the Mise En Scenesters film club. The club evolved into the first ever Chattanooga Film Festival was held in 2014, and has been quickly making a name for itself among film-lovers, filmmakers and the entertainment industry. Over the years CFF has been hailed by the Southern Sundance by Southern Living Magazine and was named one of the Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World for two years running by MovieMaker Magazine.
CFF shares films and events that are unique, challenging, critically significant, and showcase a diverse roster of up and coming filmmakers from all over the world. Our ultimate goal is to remember, discover and cultivate cinema worthy of everyone’s love and respect. As always, CFF is proudly continuing its mission to “Respect Cinema,” in hopes of increasing film exhibition, education and production in the state of Tennessee.
For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.