MOFILM chooses Vizimo to showcase mobile short films

MOFILM, the world’s biggest global mobile short film festival, has partnered with Vizimo to help enthusiasts discover, and watch, their favourite short films during the MOFILM 2009 Festival. The festival takes place in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress this week.

Personalised TV guidance company Vizimo has created a mobile service for MOFILM which not only limits the amount of time and bandwidth spent streaming films that don’t appeal, but also enables the unexpected discovery of the ‘right’ content that the viewer might not, otherwise, have found themselves. It enables anyone to search for a film based on keywords in its synopsis and, subsequently, to discover other films from the collection that are similar – whether by genre, director or other characteristic.

Phone users may use the service simply by pointing their phone’s browser to http://mofilm.vizimo.com.

Ralph Cochrane, chief operations officer for MOFILM, said: “We’ve attracted a remarkable number of entries for the MOFILM 2009 competition from around the globe. Vizimo has made it possible for all MOFILM fans to watch their favourite films on their mobile phones by genre, and to discover exciting new content easily. We want as many as possible of these films to be seen and enjoyed, and this sort of ‘discovery’ is an elegant, natural way of doing it.”

Simon Steward, Vizimo’s CEO, said: “Vizimo employs a very sophisticated model to ensure it can recommend appropriate content when someone clicks on ‘show me more like this’. Our existing applications for TV content are already popular, but it really comes into its own when the entire collection of content is new, like this; it is unrealistic and less enjoyable to try to discover interesting content simply by watching films sequentially.”

Vizimo powers personalised TV by providing a rich, personalised ‘window’ onto the increasingly complex world of video entertainment. Working across mobile, web and compatible set-top boxes, users are given an easy-to-navigate view of the massive universe of available content – both broadcast and on-demand – and are guided towards items of interest to them.

Vizimo uses existing user behaviour for scheduled TV to stimulate take-up of new, non-broadcast services. In trials, users have used Vizimo to discover new content of interest, to remotely set a home recorder, to set reminders and to discuss what they are watching with friends.

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About MOFILM
MOFILM celebrates the intersection of art, commerce and technology in the fast-evolving sector of mobile entertainment. The first MOFILM Film Festival will debut on February 18th and 19th, 2009 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (February 16th-19th). This unique film festival will celebrate amateur and professional film-making for movies of 5 minutes (or less) in length which would be ideal for viewing and sharing on mobile phones.

The GSMA is partnering with MOFILM to produce this unique programme, promoting short film to the global film, mobile and entertainment industries. The GSMA is the global trade group for the mobile industry, representing over 750 mobile operators from 218 countries.

The Mobile World Congress, held annually in Barcelona, is the world’s leading communications industry event. The Congress has become a focal point for the convergence of the mobile and entertainment industries, attracting leading film makers and artists – including Robert Redford, Isabella Rosselini and the Oscar nominated Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) among others in recent years – which have come to explore and contribute to the discussions surrounding short films and the opportunities of the mobile medium.

About Vizimo
Vizimo develops personalised TV guidance solutions that tie together TV, the web and, increasingly, mobile devices: intelligent, interactive, guidance technology that enables viewers to find, discover, manage and watch TV or video programmes that they are interested in.

Vizimo’s solutions make use of sources that include broadcast TV, on-demand and catch-up services, Internet TV and mobile video services, and are designed engage viewers with a genuinely personalised guide that works coherently across TV, web and mobile.