Netflix and Film Independent To Help "Find Your Voice"

Netflix, Inc. and Film Independent (FIND) have announced that they are joining forces to "discover the next great independent filmmaker." The "Netflix FIND Your Voice Film Competition" will award one aspiring filmmaker the means, guidance and resources to make a full-length, narrative film. Josh Brolin will serve as honorary chair and panel judge and the winner's film will be given distribution online at Netflix. The winner of the competition, who will own all rights to his or her film, will be determined between now and July 2009. In addition to production resources needed to make the film, the winner will receive a $150,000 cash production grant funded by Netflix. Film Independent will provide advisement and mentorship to the winning filmmaker throughout the production of the film and will also screen the winner's movie at the Los Angeles Film Festival. "Netflix is all about connecting people with movies they'll love, and a large part of that mission has been about finding just the right audience for films that otherwise would have had real challenges finding a market," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, in a statement. "The 'Netflix FIND Your Voice Film Competition' is a natural extension of what we do and the perfect platform to help budding filmmakers create compelling content through a supportive and educational process."