Amazon.com and Tribeca Film Festival Name Five Finalists of Short Film Competition

Amazon.com, Inc. and the Tribeca Film Festival have announced five finalists for the second Amazon Theater/Tribeca Film Festival Short-Film Competition. The group includes Owen Smith's "Battaglia," a tribute to writer Jeff Rose's grandfather and other Americans in the 88th Infantry Division of World War II; Greg Benson's Woody Allen/Spike Jonze/Monty Python-inspired "Coming Home"; Jack Paccione, Jr's action/comedy/horror film centered on table tennis, "Duel at Red Table"; Joseph Garner's "Meter Maids," a comedy set amidst the "cutthroat" world of parking enforcement officers; and Paul Matusheski's "Richter's Agenda," a thriller inspired by Alfred Hitchcock in which a student is terrorized by a computer hacker. The finalists were determined by Amazon.com customers, who submitted ratings and viewed films between August 26 - September 23. The grand-prize winner will be announced at a gala coctail event in New York next month, and will receive $50,000 from American Express towards his or her next film project. [Brian Brooks]