June 9, 1997

(WINTER PARK, FLORIDA) - This year's Florida Film Festival, starting this Friday and running through June 22nd, continues Enzian's tradition of excellence in using "new media" to reach filmmakers and film lovers with an ambitious cybercast of the event.

Launched on May 31st, the Cybercast is available on the Web at (http://www.theslant.com/fff97/). Features include film reviews, insider industry perspectives contributed by indieWIRE, 15 video clips from featured films, an interactive screening and events schedule, community discussion areas, and live scheduled chats with participating film directors, writers and actors.

Presented by Universal Studios Florida, this year's cybercast is a collaborative production by The Slant, the Orlando arts & entertainment webzine, and indieWIRE, the independent film online news service. Additional production partners on the project include GlobalMedia Design, FILMMAKER Magazine, video-streaming technology leaders VivoActive, and Digital City Orlando.

The Cybercast's producer, Brian Clark of GlobalMedia Design, has spearheaded Enzian Theater's Internet efforts since 1994. "This year's Cybercast is the most ambitious film festival Web effort we've been involved with," says Clark, who also works with a half-dozen other film festivals each year. "We're concentrating on the kind of coverage that people want to see from the Festival, especially clips from films that are screening and the chance to interact with the directors and actors from the films."

The highlight of the Cybercast's chat schedule is a live appearance on Digital City Orlando's America Online site scheduled for Sunday, June 15th at 6 PM. The Festival Cybercast will announce the details of this appearance later this week.

The Festival Cybercast combines festival coverage for local attendees with independent film business news. Video clips and reviews by The Slant's volunteer writers seek to increase attendance at screenings during the Festival. Simultaneously, features such as the special indieWIRE coverage of festival business and the director chats bring festival information to film industry professionals who can't attend.

"The Festival embraces two overlapping communities: the community of independent filmmakers world-wide, and the community of film lovers here in Orlando," says Dan Leeds, publisher of The Slant. "We have the ability to bring both communities together online in creative, meaningful ways."

The Sixth Florida Film Festival runs from Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 22. Films will be shown at two venues: Enzian Theater (1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland, FL 32751) and the Annie Russell Theatre (on the campus of Rollins College, Winter Park). Tickets may be purchased by calling 407-629-TKTS (407-629-8587; Mon.-Fri., 9AM-5PM). Festival-long passes are on sale now.