Ithaca College

In today's media marketplace, it's all about thinking small and mobile. That's the premise of "Cellflix," the first student film festival for movies shot entirely on a cell phone. The contest is being sponsored by the Park School of Communications, which has invited high school and college students to submit a 30-second movie on a subject of their choice for a chance to win the grand prize of $5,000.

The "CellFlix" film festival asks contestants to utilize their creative talent with the idea that bigger isn't necessarily better.

"Less really is more," says Dianne Lynch, dean of the Park School. "How do we grab our viewers' attention, communicate an idea or message, produce compelling images, and tell great stories -- all in 20 or 30 seconds? It can be done. And high school and college students are the ones who are going to teach the rest of us how to do it."

By 2008, an estimated 20 percent of cell phones will be considered "smart" phones with extra features such as video cameras, according to a report by The Gartner Group. "Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation," according to a study from the Pew/Internet and American Life Project released in July. The study found that 45 percent of the U.S. teens surveyed already have their own cell phone and states that, for American teenagers, "the internet and cell phones have become a central force that fuels the rhythm of daily life."

Content creators and major media companies have taken notice. MTV recently launched "Head and Body," a series of eight programs created exclusively for cell phone users. According to Fortune magazine, MTV has already sold $100 million worth of music videos, advertising, and animation to mobile phone users around the world.

Complete rules and entry information are available at www.cellflixfestival.org. The deadline for submissions is January 10, 2006. All entries will be reviewed by a panel of film students and faculty, who will select 10 finalists. A panel of professional filmmakers will choose the 2006 Grand Prize Winner from among the finalists. The works of all 10 finalists will be presented and the Grand Prize Winner announced online on January 30, 2006.

"The Park School continues to look out at the media horizon in order to understand the next 'killer app' -- and to be sure our students are ready to engage with it," says Lynch. "That's the role of a good communications school: we not only respond, we anticipate. And that's why we decided to create this contest, in order to both inspire and recognize creative uses of this new visual medium."