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We're Not About Paris Hilton; Cinequest Redefines Film Festival

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2006--Cinequest Film Festival 16 closed Sunday night in the capital of the Silicon Valley after 12 days showcasing 191 films, over 40 of which were feature films having their World, North American and United States premieres. Several hundred filmmakers and a bevy of distributors came in from around the globe, and nearly 70,000 film fans were in attendance.

But the big news at Cinequest wasn't about Paris Hilton sightings, swag bags worth obscene amounts of money, or pseudo-indie films with huge stars and distribution deals already in place. Instead, what was newsworthy about this fest were several announcements advancing Cinequest's redefinition and expansion of the concept of film festival. Cinequest is renowned as the Maverick film institute that stays ahead-of-the-curve in providing year-round Internet and DVD distribution solutions for Independent and International filmmakers as well as for showcasing the technologies that revolutionize film making and distribution. Donald J. MacDonald, Vice President and General Manager, Digital Home Group at Intel (Nasdaq:INTC), and Cinequest Co-Founders, Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen J. Powell, announced a partnership to develop Maverick distribution and content initiatives designed to bring international and independent film content to audiences via Viiv(TM) technologies. The future of film is about leveraging innovative technologies to create new and viable distribution solutions which bypass the traditional Hollywood systems, and the Intel partnership is a perfect example of how this festival is standing out from the pack.

The Film and Technology Forums which were presented over five days further delved into the important realms of integrating Internet delivery into the home entertainment environment, creating true Internet revenue streams for film artists, and effectively leveraging the budding mobile market-place. Matt Crowley, Senior Product Manager, Multimedia for Palm(R) (Nasdaq:PALM) captivated audiences at Cinequest with the capabilities of the Palm mobile platforms (Treo smartphones for example) and how this new frontier is quickly becoming the fastest-spreading global opportunity. Millions of small screens are ending up in the pockets of people around the world and content for mobile devices was one of the hot topics of conversation throughout the festival.

Additionally, Cinequest is ripe with discovering and exposing new and emerging as well as Maverick film artists rather than focusing on celebrity announcements.

"There were several gems to be found at Cinequest Film Festival this year that truly have the potential to break out and do well in the theatrical marketplace," said Randy Kret, Vice President of Indican Pictures. "The overall quality of films was very high this year with a wide range of genres to choose from. As with any good festival, our company found several of our competitors at screenings vying for films, which is a testament to the level of films at the festival. This is a festival for the industry to keep an eye on and for filmmakers to use as a platform to launch their films."

The focus at Cinequest is on connecting the artist to the film lover, not in glamorizing the red carpet. That being said, Cinequest's Maverick Spirit Award has been received by several of the industry's most recognizable Mavericks: Kevin Spacey, Sir Ben Kingsley, Gus Van Sant, Jennifer Jason Leigh and William H. Macy to name a few. This year's Maverick Spirit recipients were: Edward James Olmos and Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad.

The Numbers

Cinequest is excited to announce that film submissions and attendance for Cinequest 16 broke all records for previous Cinequest festivals. The programming department viewed over 700 feature films and over 1200 short films for a total of approximately 1900 submissions overall. Cinequest represented 40 countries as it debuted 41 World, North American and U.S. feature premieres out of a program of 191 films total (includes short and feature-length films). Cinequest experienced a growth in attendance when 67,201 people filled the seats -- a substantial increase from the 2005 figure of 61,200. On top of this, the festival experienced a increase in box office sales and the estimated fiscal impact to San Jose is an impressive three to four million dollars.

Awards: Please see the Cinequest Web site for a full listing of festival awards.

Inspiring the Maverick in All of Us

Cinequest is a premier motion picture institute that produces: Cinequest Film Festival, a soul-stirring and personable discovery festival of international films and forums for movie lovers, Maverick film artists and students; Cinequest Online, delivering films to fans worldwide; Cinequest DVD Label; Youthquest; and Cinequest Screenwriting Competition.

Cinequest Film Festival 17 will occur February 28 - March 11, 2007www.cinequest.org