For all our distribution goals, we recognize the sky’s the limit and therefore can never have enough platforms on which to showcase your great indie work. Now, we’re excited to announce another third-party partnership with Boxee. An open source, cross-platform program and social media center, Boxee allows its users to watch a rich content of movies, TV shows and videos on their televisions via their computers. Now, with the Openfilm Application, Boxee users can watch a variety of Openfilm movies greater than three minutes in length.

One of the great ideas about our alliance with Boxee is that it will strengthen the Openfilm community and increase the audience for your films - the Boxee platform offers its users to options to rate and share their favorites. Just think: More living rooms, more viewers, more exposure! Boxee users will soon be kicking back on their couches and watching the best of indie film from Openfilm.

Steve Marra, Director of the independent film "Amanda", had reason to smile last May as he celebrated the movie's red carpet premiere along with cast members Ariana Dubynin (Amanda) and Bill Bannister (Bob Bender) at the Giordano Theatre housed in the Las Vegas Hilton.

Developing marketing plans for independent features and shorts is becoming a necessity for filmmakers, especially in view of the current financing and distribution challenges facing them. As co-producer of "Accused " I've been handling promotion, which has proven in some ways to be a juggling act. At this point we are in the final stages of editing on this project and I have recently begun working on a preliminary campaign for another short that's in pre-production, so I thought I'd share a few observations.

Recently I received a few requests for information regarding any upcoming film funding events and there are two on the calendar that I'm familiar with, one this month and the other in September.

2003 Noble Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate talked with famous screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière at The Day in Tehran event, organized, June 13th, in Paris, France on the grounds of the Cinémathèque Française.

Anyone interested in writing for either film or television had to see the panel featuring Daniel Petrie, Jr. (Beverly Hills Cop, The Big Easy), Tony Blake (Charmed) and Timothy Dowling (Role Models) at the 2010 Campus Moviefest in Las Vegas. The trio offered screenwriting tips and industry information during their one hour Q&A and shared a number of personal anecdotes.

Academy Award Winner Mark Boal's journey from journalist to screenplay writer was an interesting one that began long before he wrote the "The Hurt Locker " he explained at the 2010 Campus Moviefest. Graduating from Oberlin College as a philosophy major, he became a journalist while travelling through Eastern Europe. From there he moved on to New York, where he wrote for alternative weeklies such as the Village Voice.

Cinematographer Thomas Ackerman, who is well known for his work on such movies as "Beetlejuice ", "Jumanji " and "George of the Jungle ", has watched with more than a passing interest the art of photography evolve throughout the years. He believes that it's easy now for those with his skills to be labeled technicians as opposed to being thought of as visual artists and he told the audience at the 2010 Campus Moviefest that "it isn't target acquisition. It is painting with light, shape, color. Creating is beautiful." Believing that capturing images can be taught, he feels responsible for doing just that when teaching his life's work to college students in North Carolina.

Director Donald Petrie, well known for such films as "Grumpy Old Men ", "Miss Congeniality " and "Mystic Pizza " gave a workshop about his craft as part of the 2010 Campus Moviefest held last week at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

Ironically enough, the first workshop I attended at the 2010 Movie Campus fest Grand Finale held at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas last weekend was led by Sam Eigen, Executive Vice Present at Shoreline Entertainment discussing Movie Sales and Distribution.