Help me win the War of Films on Film Annex

 A still from my film 'Ai'. Watch and vote for it on Film Annex.

A few weeks ago I attended a panel at Internet Week (#IWNY) entitled the Socialization of Film which featured a host of speakers each with unique perspectives on the current independent film scene. One of the speakers was Francesco Rulli, president of the progressive film distribution platform Film Annex, which essentially pays content creators advertisement revenue and offer monetary incentives to drive traffic to their video conduit.

I am participating in a such a contest, the aptly named War of Films (a riff on the Battle of Bands mantra), a monthly competition which encourages filmmakers to promote their films on Film Annex with the winner winning $1000. It's a smart way to drive filmmakers to promote their films and conveiently does not require registration with the site, making it easier to vote. I'm trying to win the month of June with my samurai film Ai, which you can watch and vote here (just click the little green plus button above the player).

If I win, I'll put the money towards my next short film which I intend to further finance by crowdfunding later this summer. I'll also debut a new video fro my vault of unreleased gems exclusively on Film Annex. You can also watch 3 other Ai related videos on a web TV portal created by Film Annex called Zaffi TV. So please spread the word, watch my film and vote, especially if you want to continue supporting my filmmaking endeavors.

Ai at Beverly Hills Hi-Definition Film Festival

For my friends on the west coast, Ai will be playing tonight at the Beverly Hills Hi-Definition Film Festival in stunning HD for the first time in public. The film starts at 7:15PM PST and you can get your tickets here. The film is playing off a master blu-ray copy which signals the oncoming of the Ai limited special edition blu-ray, coming soon!

Egofest Prize Package

The amazing people at the Brainerd, MN Egofest have sent me a prize package to be treasured for the rest of my life. In addition to six beautifully crafted statue trophies, I received tons of cool press materials from the festival including a congratulations letter, schedules and badges as well as my grand prize, a copy of Jon Reiss's empowering film book, 'Think Outside the Box Office'. I could not be any happier with the win for my film as it validates all the hard work my talented team of actors and crew put into Ai. Big thanks to Phil Holbrook and the amazing Brainerd Crossing Arts Alliance.  My ego is truly inflated now thanks to Egofest! Check out the rest of the pictures on Flickr.

EgoFest Q+A

This was my live streaming Q+A with the audience at EgoFest after watching my short film Ai. The good stuff starts around the 3:20 mark...enjoy!

Become a fan of Ai on Facebook

Ai on Facebook

Indie Fest Ai Screening

indie fest flier, originally uploaded by rasdourian.

Please come out if you are in the Anahiem area and want to tweetup in person for the screening of my samurai short film "Ai" at Indiefest on a big screen.