The Squad has teamed up with Theta Network to present the successful MetaCannes Film3 Festival, which took place from May 12th to May 25th, 2024.
CANNES, France, June 4, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
CANNES, FRANCE – June 3, 2024 – In collaboration with Theta Network, The Squad successfully produced the MetaCannes Film3 Festival, which took place from May 12th to May 25th, 2024. The 2024 edition of the event offered a blockchain-based, video-on-demand film festival experience, including world premieres, empowerment-focused content, and live streaming (first in 2024).
Event highlights:
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Community and Inclusion: MetaCannes continues to support underrepresented voices in the film industry, providing a platform for women and the LGBTQIA+ community to share their stories and experiences. Sian Morson, founder of The BlkChain, curated one short film block to celebrate the diversity of BIPOC voices in the festival lineup.
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Women-focused content: MetaCannes also hosted a curated feed sponsored by Herflix, a leading streaming platform for films about, for and by women. Herflix also hosted the Better World Foundation gala as part of the main Cannes lineup, which was attended by famous actress Juliette Binoche, virtuoso pianist Lang Lang, singer-songwriter Joyce Jonathan, and several members of European royalty.
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Industry-Recognized Host: The Herflix Gala was hosted by Swan Sit, dubbed the “Queen of Clubhouse” by Forbes. A top creative in the marketing world, Swan previously served as Global Head of Digital Marketing at Nike, Estée Lauder and Revlon.
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Awards: Last year the Best of Fest award went to BAFTA and Oscar winner AN IRISH GOODBYE. This year The Squad introduced the Next Wave of Cinema Awards with the Grand Jury Golden Wave Award going to FREE FALL and the Special Jury Award going to AI Cinema's FALLING FROM GRACE.
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AI Cinema: AI took center stage as a key element of Film3. This marked the second year that MetaCannes curated AI Cinema, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusivity. This year, MetaCannes introduced MetaCannesNEXT, a new segment dedicated to AI Cinema, showcasing how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing filmmaking. The initiative follows the trend set by major film festivals such as Sundance and SXSW, which focus on new forms of storytelling and distribution technologies.
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Special Screenings: Attendees watched award-winning short films. The Last Rangerand Anne Frank Gift Shopfeatures well-known actors such as Ari Graynor and Chris Perfetti. The lineup also includes world premieres of a new short from Goya Award-nominated director Rafa Arroyo, works from AI film innovators Nicholas Neubert and Dave Clark, and a film by T'kai Ozama.
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Innovative Technology: Powered by Theta Network's patented NFT-based Digital Rights Management (DRM), MetaCannes provides a secure and transparent platform for seamless access to film screenings and panel discussions. The technology allows filmmakers to meet studios' Digital Rights Management requirements while adding an extra layer of security.
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NFT Access: The festival kicked off with the release of two exclusive NFT passes on May 3, 2024. The MetaCannes Film3 Streaming Pass and the prestigious Streaming Gold Pass allowed access to handpicked films and exclusive content, enhancing the audience experience with blockchain technology. Pass holders also now have exclusive access to creators on Token Gate's Discord channel.
Statement from the organizers:
“At MetaCannes, our community is our utility and Film3 is our product. We're proud to be leading the change, making the film industry more inclusive and accessible through technology,” said Jordan Bayne, founder of The Squad.
Theta Labs CEO Mitch Liu added, “Our collaboration with The Squad at MetaCannes 2024 demonstrates our commitment to leveraging blockchain and AI technology to empower filmmakers and audiences around the world.”
About MetaCannes:
MetaCannes Film3 Festival is the world's first on-chain, on-demand virtual film festival, pioneering the integration of blockchain technology with the cinematic experience. By hosting a fully virtual festival, MetaCannes will reach audiences around the world and provide a unique platform for filmmakers and film lovers to engage with films in new and innovative ways.
About Jordan Bain
Jordan Bain is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of The Squad, the first media collective creating Web x Cinema content, the originator of the Film3 movement, and the premier destination for those building the new Film3 ecosystem. Her short film THE SEA IS ALL I KNOW starring Academy Award winner Melissa Leo was Oscar nominated, and her historic short film RED FLAGS was produced at Zora in January 2022 and collected by the iconic Clare Silver. She has always been passionate about building a better future for filmmakers and has spoken in over 700 spaces/panels/interviews for Film3 as the Next Wave of Cinema. She is the founder of the MetaCannes Film3 festival and co-founder of the Film3 Summit, and her podcast The Film3 OG and the Next Wave of Cinema is available on Spotify and Apple.
About Theta Labs
Theta Labs pioneered Theta Network, the leading blockchain decentralized cloud for AI, media, and entertainment. Theta EdgeCloud is the first hybrid cloud edge computing AI platform powered by Theta Edge Network with over 10,000 active global edge nodes and 80 PetaFLOPS of distributed GPU computing power always available. Theta is one of the top 10 DePIN blockchains by market cap listed on both Coinmarketcap and Coingecko, and one of the top AI tokens on Binance.com. Theta EdgeCloud Video is a turnkey Web3 video API for developers, dramatically reducing the cost of video transcoding and content delivery. Theta's Web3 infrastructure, including the ThetaDrop NFT marketplace and Theta Web3 Theatre, enables entertainment companies to drive new revenue and community engagement.
Backed by Google, Samsung, Sony, Creative Artists Agency and Binance, Theta's Enterprise Validator and Governance Council is comprised of global market leaders. Theta works with leading entertainment brands such as Lionsgate, MGM, Katy Perry, American Idol, The Price is Right and Taste of Home. Popular platforms that utilize Theta's Web3 infrastructure include MetaCannes Film3 Festival, FuseTV, CONtv Anime, WPT, PetCollective, FailArmy and other OTT streaming services. Theta's strategic corporate investors include Samsung NEXT, Sony Innovation Fund, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and CAA.
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For all information regarding this release, please contact anna.ivanova (at) eakdigital.com.
CONTACT: Anna Ivanova anna.ivanova (at) eakdigital.com
