iklipz

by MovieMaker Staff | Published September 15, 2006

If you’re worried that online exhibition means that your film will wind up lost amid the clutter of lip-synching teenagers and videos of Juniorâ€™s high school graduation, fret no longer. Founded by some of the industryâ€™s finest, including former Paramount Classics co-founder David Dinerstein and Paramount President of Marketing Arthur Cohen, iklipz has emerged as a blessed alternative for moviemakers who want to get their work seen, but donâ€™t want to battle the crowds on the festival circuit. â€œI started iklipz because I have always loved independent film,â€ says Cohen, the companyâ€™s CEO. â€œMy professional background was of course in the studio system, but I share a passion for indie filmmaking and wanted to create a unique community in which everyone could share in this style of moviemaking by reaching the widest possible audience.â€The concept is simple: Merging the accessibility of YouTube and the sleeker format of iFilm, iklipz provides moviemakers with a forum to display their work, free of charge. The site is geared toward the indie community and has developed a board of moviemaking elite, including THINKFilmâ€™s Mark Urman, the Gersh Agencyâ€™s Arianna Bocco and recent MovieMaker cover boy Edward Burns. In addition to user-uploaded flicks, iklipz also screens hand-selected, hard-to-find â€œindustryâ€ films like Eric Bylerâ€™s Charlotte Sometimes. â€œI think iklipz is another sort of festival,â€ explains Cohen. â€œWe can supplement or complement a festival because it is the filmmakerâ€™s choice to post his work. Often, we are able to show great pieces that might have already traveled the festival circuit which can now call iklipz a home for the future.â€

One thing is clear: Iklipz is riding the wave of the moviemaking future. For more information, visit www.iklipz.com.