Global Mobile Press

PRESS RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKERS SELECTED FOR FIRST iTHENTIC-ITVS GLOBAL MOBILE PROJECT

GLOBAL MOBILE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL’S CULINARY CINEMA PROGRAM

SAN FRANCISCO, October 22, 2007: iThentic and ITVS International announced today the line-up of eight international award-winning filmmakers selected for their first online and mobile collaboration entitled GLOBAL MOBILE. The focus of this first GLOBAL MOBILE series of short films is – FOOD - and the filmmakers have been invited to create a work under 3 minutes in running time that best captures this theme from their own cultural context. The series launches today online at www.globalmobileproject.com, www.itvs.org/international and www.ithentic.com and will be streamed later in the season on the Independent Lens website (the ITVS-produced series on PBS) as well as through iThentic’s network of distribution partners which include Rogers Wireless and Telus in Canada and www.cellfish.com in the US.

iThentic and ITVS International also announced that GLOBAL MOBILE: FOOD has been invited to be showcased as part of the Berlin International Film Festival’s ‘Culinary Cinema’ program, which is a special sidebar event that runs from February 11-15, 2008. ‘Culinary Cinema’ was launched at last year’s festival and is inspired by the principles of the Slow Food movement: Good, Clean and Fair. “We are delighted that the programmers of ‘Culinary Cinema’ and the Berlinale team have recognized a common spirit and interest in the GLOBAL MOBILE lineup of innovative mobile shorts,” commented Catherine Tait, CEO, iThentic.

The eclectic mix of projects and filmmakers include:

· AMLAN DATTA (India), COCK-A-DOODLE-DO. Amlan Datta is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Kolkata. A painter, photographer and visual artist, Amlan studied cinematography in the premier film school of India, FTII, Pune. He and his brother Anirban are currently in production with the documentary IN FOR MOTION in association with the BBC and YLE Finland. For GLOBAL MOBILE, COCK-A¬DOODLE-DO tells the story of a rooster who gives up country life for the big city with dire consequences.

· HEIDI FLEISHER (USA/France) and LIONEL BROUET (France), AMUSE-BOUCHE. Heidi Fleisher works freelance for several documentary film production companies as both a producer and director of international development. Lionel Brouet is an author/director who has directed the documentary films 8-BIT GENERATION, FESTIVAL IN THE DESERT, LO’JO, and SACRED DRUMS. He also works with the French channels Canal+ and ARTE as a video journalist. Their GLOBAL MOBILE film AMUSE-BOUCHE will take the viewer on a journey to undercover the intimate and individual, but highly public act of placing food in our mouths, chewing and swallowing.

· NATALIE GLANVILLE-WALLIS (UK) and SERGE FERRAND (France), THE POWER OF CHILIES. These creators of Les Yeux dans les Yeux Production, are based in the south of France. Serge Ferrand is producer and cameraman, Natalie Glanville-Wallis is writer-director and editor. In 2007, they produced SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE, a 52’ documentary on the Tibetan exiles in India and their struggle to maintain their identity in the face of indifference from the rest of the world. Currently in production for GLOBAL MOBILE, THE POWER OF CHILIES features Asia’s largest chili market in south India. Viewers will discover how these red wonders can spice up one’s life and how their medical properties can change people’s lives.

· OLAF DE FLEUR JOHANNESON (Iceland), A KING OF HIS OWN. Olaf de Fleur Johanneson has been a dedicated filmmaker for over a decade and founded his own independent production company, Poppoli Pictures, in 2003. He won the ‘Best Documentary Feature’ award at the Icelandic Film Awards in 2004 and 2005, and was nominated two consecutive years, 2005 and 2006, as the best Icelandic Filmmaker at the Cultural Awards. His first feature film QUEEN RAQUELA will be released in January 2008 and his second feature THE HIGHER FORCE will soon follow. Olaf’s film for GLOBAL MOBILE, A KING OF HIS OWN features a proud young boy and his make-believe dinner made from mud. It is about chosing one’s own path regardless of whether it is good or bad

· KHALO MATABANE (South Africa), STREET KID & FOOD (working title). Khalo Matabane’s films about South Africa have brought him both national and international acclaim. He has directed a number of documentaries including TWO DECADES STILL (1996), THE WAITERS (1997), YOUNG LIONS (1999) and STORY OF A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY (2004). His first feature film was CONVERSATIONS ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON (2005) and he has directed the shorts POETIC CONVERSATIONS (1996) and LOVE IN A TIME OF SICKNESS (2001). At MIPDOC 2006, Khalo was acknowledged as an “International Trailblazer.” For GLOBAL MOBILE his film STREETKID & FOOD features twelve-year-old Jabu, a street kid in downtown Johannesburg. The film, based on a true experience, is not only a story about poverty and hunger but also a sweet, heartwarming tale about love.

· MARCELA SAID (Chile), DIVINE FOOD. In 1999 Marcela Said directed VALPARAISO, a 52 minutes documentary film aired on Paris Premiére. In 2000, she directed the award-winning documentary I LOVE PINOCHET, a portrait of Pinochet's followers, produced by Pathé and broadcast on Histoire, SBS, NWT, RTSR, ERT among others. In 2005-2006, she directed with Jean de Certeau, OPUS DEI a silent crusade produced by Legoff, Koenig and Trivino. The film was broadcast on France5, Planete, TV5monde, TSR, RTBF, SBS with excellent critics. DIVINE FOOD is Marcela’s contribution to GLOBAL MOBILE. It portrays a starving priest who will be completely transformed after eating the holy wafers of his chapel.

· GEF SENZ (Australia) and MAUNG MAUNG AYE (Burma), HUNGRY FOR FREEDOM. Gef Senz is a lawyer, musician, sound engineer and documentary filmmaker. He has written, directed, edited and produced a number of short documentaries including TRANSFORMERS–The Art of Circuit Bending, Burmese Kitchen and POOL COMP. Maung Maung is an experienced and resourceful animator, specializing in stop motion claymation and computer based 2-D Flash animation. His short films include BRASSKATEERS, GEORGE, PICK ON YOUR OWN SIZE and BURMESE KITCHEN. For GLOBAL MOBILE the pair have teamed up to create HUNGRY FOR FREEDOM a Burmese cooking segment that demonstrates how to cook a traditional Burmese pumpkin curry while exposing the dire political situation in Burma.

· JORIEN VAN NES (Netherlands), BIO-PIG. Jorien Van Nes has directed and written scenarios for several episodes of VPRO experimental and documentary series. Last year she directed her first 50' drama-production LEUK VOOR LATER. In her search for stories she finds them bordering between real and unreal (fiction). She experiments in making reality fiction and fiction documentary. For GLOBAL MOBILE Jorien is working with colleagues FEMKE WOLTING and BRUNO FELIX, of Submarine, an Amsterdam production company specialized in documentaries and new media productions. Their production BIO-PIG is set in The Netherlands, one of the largest pork producers in Europe, and is the reversed life story of a pig in three minutes and thirteen seconds.

About iThentic

iThentic is an online and mobile video content company. iThentic aggregates, produces and distributes original, high quality, independently-produced video content on the web and to mobile devices ranging from cell phones to mobile media players and other wireless devices. iThentic is a tastemaker destination for the best independently produced video content for digital and wireless platforms. iThentic distributes its content online at www.ithentic.com and through a network of distribution partners which include Cellfish Media, Rogers Wireless, and TELUS. For more information, visit: www.ithentic.com

About ITVS

The Independent Television Service (ITVS) brings to local, national and international audiences high-quality, content-rich programs created by a diverse body of independent producers. ITVS programs take creative risks, explore complex issues, and express points of view seldom seen on television. ITVS International opens a two-way exchange of compelling documentaries between the United States and other countries, bringing insight into other people, cultures and points of view. The International Media Development Fund is a project of ITVS and is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For more information, visit: www.itvs.org/international.

Variety: July 13, 2007

Canadian firm sold on cell phones
iThentic takes short-form content to next level

By TAMSEN TILLSON

TORONTO — Watching her teenage daughter favoring her mobile phone over TV convinced Canuck producer Catherine Tait that it was time to go digital.

That was in June 2006 when Tait, former senior executive at Salter Street and co-founder of New York-based TV producer and consultant Duopoly, joined with two other longform producers to launch iThentic, a mobile and Internet content company which, rather than seeing digital media as a TV add-on, are making short-form content the main course. The other founders are Duopoly co-helmer Liz Manne and 1409 Entertainment prexy Al Cattabiani.

In May, Toronto-based Barna-Alper Prods. bought a 50% equity stake in the company for an undisclosed sum.

IThentic, which streams short-form content online and onto mobile phones via Cellfish Media in the U.S. and Telus in Canada, is unveiling a 2007-08 slate that includes series "Global Mobile" produced with San Francisco-based ITVS Intl., "Green Minutes," co-produced with ASCAP, and such inhouse fare as "Hot or Not?" and "Reel Stand-up," featuring comics like Margaret Cho and Erin Foley.

All episodes are three minutes or less. Most are professionally produced, either inhouse or by partners like the Canadian Film Center, Independent Feature Project, ITVS, LinkTV, and SXSW.

The company also accepts third-party work, but Tait says the big difference between iThentic and sites like YouTube or Heavy.com is iThentic's higher quality and rights clearance threshold.