January 15, 1997

(Park City, Utah) - This year, the absorption of new and digital media into the independent film community continues, as prominent new media proponents Brian Clark and Karol Martesko, of GlobalMedia Design, will speak to a sold-out audience of a special panel held by the Sundance Film Festival on Monday, January 20th at 3:00 PM in Park City, Utah.

The panel - which will also include such diverse figures as Doug Block, director of HomePage and The Heck with Hollywood, Liz Heller, senior vice-president of new media at Capitol Records, Adam Pincus, Producer of the Sundance Channel website, and Kevin Smith, writer/director of Clerks and Mallrats and webmaster of ViewAskew - will focus on the question: what does the Internet really mean to independent film production?

In addition to the panel, on Tuesday , January 21st at 10:00 AM, Sundance will be hosting a workshop, held by Clark and festival filmmakers with websites, that will demonstrate website-building tools and strategies for new entrants to the online media.

Martesko couldn't be more thrilled to be spearheading the multimedia panel: "It's great to see a festival that achieved its status in the U.S. by allowing film and business communities to interact take its rightful place at the forefront of the new media revolution." He is particularly encouraged by the speed with which tickets to the panel sold out: "Filmmakers initially reacted warily to the recent technological advances, but applications like non-linear editing seem to have won them over. By attending this panel, they are giving us a chance to meet on the ground to empower them to meet in the ether."

Coming to the panel from a different perspective, Clark is no less enthusiastic. "I have always said that Internet revolution is primarily about changing the way we interact with each other," he claims. "This law holds especially true for the independent film community. The opportunities for filmmakers to benefit from the experience of their peers and predecessors, connect with potential funding, and communicate directly with their audience have enormous implications for the future of the field."

Both Martesko and Clark have carried the Internet banner to independent film festivals around the world, including the 1996 Independent Feature Film Market, The Florida Film Festival, The Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, The Miami Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, and last year’s Sundance Festival (as part of the Virtual Film festival).