The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences, NVIDIA and IFC Announce the 2005 Machinima Film Festival

Market Wire, September, 2005

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS), an organization that provides advocacy, education and community for Machinima (filmmaking using real-time 3D videogame technology/virtual reality), today announced the 2005 Machinima Film Festival and the 2005 Machinima Awards (the Mackies). Sponsored by NVIDIA® Corporation and the Independent Film Channel (IFC), the third annual festival will be held November 12th, 2005, at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.

The one-day event will include screenings of Machinima films, workshops hosted by Machinima filmmakers, special presentations, talks with award-winning independent filmmakers and seminars about Machinima production techniques. Preceding the festival will be an opening reception and awards presentation, where some of the best Machinima filmmakers will be recognized for their creative artistry in this new and powerful entertainment medium that's set to revolutionize the worlds of filmmaking and animation.

"This year's Machinima Film Festival is shaping up to be our largest yet," said Paul Marino, Executive Director of the Academy. "Machinima has experienced incredible momentum in the past year and we're looking forward to a full day of events along with a program of all new Machinima works."

Throughout the day attendees will be able to view Machinima projects and speak with the respective filmmakers. Now in its third-year, the Machinima Film Festival has become the definitive event for an emerging group of savvy filmmakers using readily-available technology to tell their stories," said Bill Rehbock, general manager of content development at NVIDIA. "We're proud to support this event as it provides a showcase for the creative minds helping to establish the PC as a true artist's medium."

"IFC's enthusiastic involvement with Machinima reflects our ongoing support of filmmakers, our commitment to freedom of expression, and our dedication to pushing creative boundaries," said Evan Fleischer, Director of Marketing and Promotions at IFC. "Machinima is independent filmmaking at its very best, an organically grown art form that sits at the intersection of imaginative storytelling and technological innovation. We believe that our involvement in this festival will play an important role in the development of Machinima as an art form, which will in turn play an important role in the ongoing evolution of independent filmmaking."

The hosting venue, the Museum of the Moving Image (www.movingimage.us), provides an excellent place for this year's festival, with its diverse collection and exhibitions of motion picture, television, and digital arts.

About Machinima and the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences

The medium of Machinima (ma-SHEEN-eh-mah) is often recognized as the merging of three separate but related art forms: filmmaking, animation and video game technology. By combining the real-time cinematic capture of action and performance (filmmaking), artistic creations moved over time (animation) and interactive virtual environments (game technology), Machinima represents a creatively flexible storytelling medium that both embraces its lineage as well as expands upon it.

The Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences, a fledgling NY-based non-profit organization, was co-founded in 2002 by its Executive Director, Paul Marino to promote, organize and recognize the growth of Machinima filmmaking and filmmakers. Mr. Marino, an Emmy Award-winning animator, is also the author of the first book about Machinima: 3D Game-Based Filmmaking: "The Art of Machinima" (2004, Paraglyph Press). To learn more about Machinima and the Academy, visit www.machinima.org.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation is a market leader in visual computing technology dedicated to creating products that enhance the interactive experience on consumer and professional computing platforms. Its graphics and communications processors have broad market reach and are incorporated into a wide variety of computing platforms, including consumer PCs, enterprise PCs, notebook PCs, professional workstations, handhelds, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and employs more than 1,900 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.nvidia.com.

About IFC Television

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed network dedicated to independent film 24 hours a day, uncut and commercial free. The Independent Film Channel is a part of IFC Companies, which has established itself as the future of independent film. With the television network, as well as a film distribution and production unit and a VOD service, IFC Companies has created over the course of the past decade a revolutionary end-to-end business model and brand that focuses on developing and nurturing talent and maximizing the value of independent film. IFC Companies uses its unique cross-platform position to broaden the audience of independent film and to provide independent filmmakers with a strong voice. IFC Companies is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC.