Rutger Hauer's Milan festival taps jurors including Robert Rodriguez, Ridley Scott

Actress Miranda Richardson; director Ridley Scott; director Paul Verhoeven; actress Joan Chen; director Robert Rodriguez; Italian screenwriter, director and actor Maurizio Nichetti; actor Giacomo Arrigoni and Italian journalist and writer Francesca Sassoli along with Rutger Hauer make up the international jury.

I’ve Seen Films aims to increase visibility given to independent cinema. It’s main competition section focuses on feature lengths films, but the festival also has sections dedicated to shorts and Internet films through a collaboration with CortoWeb – a short film distribution network - which allows filmmakers to showcase their work via Internet streaming.

The festival’s website states its aim to be that of “promoting and uniting filmmakers from all over the world, offering them new diffusion formulas linked to innovative visibility platforms, where authors can face each other on the common ground of the film language.”

Thanks to an agreement with the 200-screen circuit Microcinema, participating short films are distributed in the circuit and obtain digital screenings. Since its founding year in 2008, I’ve Seen Films has only screened films in HD digital. If a film was sent in standard version, they get converted, a festival spokesman told ScreenDaily. 3D works are also welcome.

I’ve Seen Films has announced that thematic categories for the 2011 competition include Social Awareness and Art (including painting, theatre, poetry and literature).

In addition to its main categories, I’ve Seen Films has a section dedicated to film schools and their works, in collaboration with the Lombardy branch of Italy’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia a section, which welcomes film school submissions.

The festival also offers masterclasses and workshops taught by Hauer and his peers.

The call for entries expires April 11, 2011 and entry forms can be accessed on www.icfilms.org.

The festival runs from October 5-14 in Milan.