Instagram partners with Vice and the Sydney Film Festival to launch the IGTV Film Festival
Instagram has partnered with Vice and the Sydney Film Festival to launch the first IGTV Film Festival, utilising the platform’s long-form vertical video format.
Film makers under the age of 34 are encouraged to submit their 10-minute-maximum vertical films, with the finalists to be screened in the Instagram lounge at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
The IGTV Film Festival competition finalists will have their films shown at the Sydney Film Festival in June
The inaugural theme is ‘Future’, asking applicants to reflect on what it’s like to live in Australia today and what it will be like in years to come. The films can reflect topics such as identity, politics, food, sport or the environment, and be in any language.
The winner of the IGTV film festival will receive an official Sydney Film Festival award and prize money.
Sydney Film Festival director, Nashen Moodley, said in a statement: “We’re always looking for innovative ways to create and celebrate filmmaking, so we are thrilled to partner with Instagram and Vice to launch this initiative at our 2019 festival.
“We recognise the unique ways audiences are consuming film and media in today’s mobile-first world, and want to continue encouraging new voices to share their stories on the platforms they use every day. We’re excited to see these visions of Australia’s future and share these with festival goers at our SFF Hub.”
Naomi Shepherd, Instagram Australia group industry director said this evolution of the IGTV brand makes sense, because its become a playground for young, creative voices already.
“We believe the future of storytelling is vertical, and now we want to see how young Australians bring their vision of the future to Instagram. The IGTV Film Festival is an incredible opportunity to partner with Sydney Film Festival and Vice to inspire new levels of creativity and we’re honoured to celebrate these films with festival audiences in June,” she said.
Wendy Syfret, Vice Australia head of editorial, said it was a ground-breaking initiative.
“As a multi-platform media company, we’re always experimenting with new ways to tell stories, reach our audiences, and express the voices and experiences of young Australians, and we’ve embraced IGTV since the day it launched,” she said.
“We want to put new voices front and centre, and develop a new generation of filmmakers in Australia. The IGTV Film Festival is a ground-breaking initiative that any young Australian can enter and share their story with the country.”
