Melville, NY—Canon USA and two-time Academy Award-winner Ron Howard officially launched the Project Imaginat10n Film Festival with the global premiere of 10 short films at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Following the premiere, screenings will be held in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Bryce Dallas Howard, the first graduating director of Canon’s Project Imagin8ion, as well as in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by James Murphy, a celebrity director for Project Imaginat10n. Yahoo Screen will continue hosting the festival through the end of the year.
Proving Ron Howard’s words “we’re all creative,” five innovative celebrities took to the director’s chair—Jamie Foxx, Academy Award winner; Eva Longoria, Golden Globe nominee and SAG Award-winning actress; Georgina Chapman, designer and cofounder of Marchesa; James Murphy, founder of LCD SoundSystem; and Biz Stone, cofounder of Twitter.
“From inviting the masses to submit photographs to shape the creative direction of a film to then challenging consumers to direct their own short films, Project Imaginat10n has been a user-generated project from start to finish,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications, Canon USA. “In an effort to continue our collaboration with the community, we are pleased to take the concept of a film festival to a new level, asking consumers to watch the films side-by-side online.”
The project launched with a photo contest, inviting consumers to interpret 10 storytelling themes through photography. After receiving thousands of submissions, 91 winning photos were selected. The directors then each chose nine photos, one from each theme, to inspire their films. A tenth photo in the Discovery theme, selected by Ron Howard, was used in all films to create a common thread.
Canon gave consumers of all skill levels an opportunity to showcase their creativity and storytelling abilities by undertaking the same creative exercise—selecting photos from the same pool as the celebrity directors to inspire short films. With hundreds of user-generated films submitted, Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard selected five winning films.
“I am so proud to be part of this creative journey with Canon, the impetus to 10 inspiring, brave and audacious films that are a testament to the power of the imagination,” said Ron Howard.
“A Ron Howard Presentation” consists of 10 films: . . . And She Was My Eve, Jamie Foxx, celebrity director; Out of the Blue, Eva Longoria, celebrity director; A Dream of Flying, Georgina Chapman, celebrity director; Little Duck, James Murphy, celebrity director; Evermore, Biz Stone, celebrity director; Dominus, Arrius Sorbonne, winning director; Chucked, Jared Nelson, winning director; Here and Now, Julian Higgins, winning director; A Day in the Country, Kalman Apple, winning director; and Filter, Ronnie Allman, winning director. The view the film festival, log on to screen.yahoo.com.
Freestyle Picture Company produced the five celebrity director films as well as Bryce Dallas Howard’s short film when you find me as part of Canon’s Project Imagin8ion. usa.canon.com
