Screen International is holding a pioneeringfilmmaking competition at its Cinema Next conference on February 3rd.Three filmmaking teams will take part in The Cinema Next Mini-Movie Competitionwhere they will use mobile phone cameras to produce short films which will be shot,edited and screened at this London-based conference.

The teams will be allowed to start making the films inadvance of the conference but must include footage shot during the conference intotheir films as well as editing the films on the same day using the latestdigital filmmaking packages.

The three filmmakers taking part in the competitionare Richard Jobson, director of 16 Yearsof Alcohol, Carol Morley, former BAFTA nominee and director of the documentaryThe Alcohol Years and Martin Percy,who has produced a number of web-based interactive live action films fororganizations such as the National Theatre and the London Olympic Bid.

The completed films will then be screened at theconference where the audience will be invited to select a winner using an SMSvoting system. In addition the films will be streamed on the ScreenInternational website (www.screendaily.com)where subscribers can vote for their favorite film, alternativelythe films can be download onto Apple's video iPodfrom Screendaily'swebsite.

The competition has been set up by the UK FilmCouncil's New Cinema Fund as part of its commitment to explore the benefitsoffered by digital technology in the making and showing of films.

'Breakingbarriers is the lifeblood of the New Cinema Fund. In 2003 we funded the firstever online feature film, This is not a Love Song, which gotdistributed in the cinema and on the internet,' said Paul Trijbits, Head of the New Cinema Fund.

'TheCinema Next conference is going to poke, probe and challenge business models,production methodology, distribution patterns and, in the process, chuck a fewbricks through some of the established windows. The role of the New Cinema Fundis to continue to stimulate, innovate and challenge film production and distributionin form, content and delivery."

Keynotespeaker at the conference is Dan Marks, chief executive officer ofvideo-over-broadband, BT Entertainment.