What an extraordinary and energetic event! Thousands of spectators were mesmerized by dozens of colorful projections last night, as the 3rd annual Digital Graffiti festival sparked to life shortly after sunset. FLORIDIANS WON BIG LAST NIGHT. Congrats to our 36 finalists and to our 2010 Digital Graffiti winners:

• The $1,000 prize for “Best Local Submission” (sponsored by 30A.com) was awarded to “Eye Spy” by Russell Beans of Seacrest, Florida
  
• The $1,000 prize for “Best Animated Submission” (sponsored by EBSCO) was awarded to “Inner Klänge” by Lemeh42 of Moterado, Italy
  
• A $2,000 prize for “Most Innovative Submission” was sponsored by The Florida Governor’s Office of Film & Entertainment and was awarded to “Night Walkers” by Yandell Walton and Tobias J Edwards of Collingwood VIC, Australia
  
• The $1,000 prize for “Audience Favorite” was determined by spectator text votes during the event, and the entry receiving the most votes was “Eye Spy” by Russell Beans of Seacrest, Florida
  
• Finally, we’re very proud to announce that this year’s $5,000 “Best of Show” award (sponsored by The Alys Foundation) was awarded to “Void?” by Bala Boyd of Freeport, Florida

Stay tuned for what will no doubt prove to be some truly amazing videos and photos …

YUP, that’s right! And this year’s event is going to be more amazing than ever before. Nearly 300 digital artists from 18 different countries submitted original artworks this year, and now it all comes down tonight. Our 36 finalists will compete for $10,000 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 “Best of Show” award, a $2,000 prize for the most innovative creation sponsored by the Florida Office of Film & Entertainment, and a $1,000 “Best Local Submission” award sponsored by 30A.com. (The “Best Local Submission” honor will be awarded to an artist who resides full-time in Florida’s Walton, Bay, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Bay or Washington County.)

“What’s Digital Graffiti,” you ask??! <<GASP>> Well, it’s only the world’s first projection art festival, where artists use the latest technologies to project original video creations and cutting-edge interactive exhibits onto the iconic white walls and rooftops of Alys Beach, Florida.

Still in the dark? No worries, just come out and see us tonight in Alys Beach from 8:30pm CST until Midnight. Trust me. In the meantime, you can also check out this cool video from last year’s Digital Graffiti festival (courtesy of VIEtv):

FYI, the following works have been selected for display and competition during the 2010 Digital Graffiti Festival at Alys Beach:

1. “Aesthetic Species Maps” by David Montgomery of Fernandina Beach, Florida
2. “Alys Beach 3D Structure Projection” by Christopher Lee of Dothan, Alabama
3. “Bombshell” by Don Relyea of Dallas, Texas
4. “Eye Spy” by Russell Beans of Seacrest, Florida
5. “Five Portraits in Five Minutes” by Kasumi of Cleveland, Ohio
6. “Flightpattern” by Gwen Vanhee of Zedelgem, Belgium
7. “Frosti” by Matt Pearson of Brighton, United Kingdom
8. “Geometry of Poi” by Kate Riegle – van West of Chicago, Illinois
9. “Greenray” by Andre Rangel of Portugal
10. “Human Flux” by Nikola Mihov of Sofia, Bulgaria
11. “Inner Klänge” by Lemeh42 of Moterado, Italy
12. “JD’s Fun House 2010″ by John Daniel of Panama City, Florida
13. “Kaleidoscopia” by Andy McKeown of Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
14. “Laser Art” by Christopher Lee of Dothan, Alabama
15. “Luminous Curiosities” by Christina Pierson of Los Angeles, California
16. “Moonlit McGill” by Amber Bushnell of Missoula, Montana
17. “Night Walkers” by Yandell Walton and Tobias J Edwards of Collingwood VIC, Australia
18. “Organic Cycles” by Kristen Regan of Pensacola, Florida
19. “Part of the Surge and Not the Sea” by Kevin Romoser of Wayne, New Jersey
20. “Planet Caliza” by Kurt Lischka of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
21. “Re-Birth” by Said Dokins and Mauricio Rodriguez of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico
22. “Resonance” by Charles Raffety of Missoula, Montana
23. “Roberto” by David Terranova of New York, New York
24. “SAN” by Jackson Petit of The Bahamas
25. “Sousbleu” by Gwen Vanhee of Zedelgem, Belgium
26. “Take Care” by Matt Pearson of Brighton, United Kingdom
27. “The Ancient Mariner” by Michael Burton of Lincoln, Nebraska
28. “Transmission (32 channels)” by Sam Holden of London, United Kingdom
29. “True Fictions: Home of the Brave” by The Light Surgeons of London, United Kingdom
30. “UGOKU” by Kasumi of Cleveland, Ohio
31. “untitled_(memory)” by Matthew West of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
32. “Vacio” by Daniel Ivan of Amecameca, Mexico
33. “Void?” by Bala Boyd of Freeport, Florida
34. “Walkers” by Nick Rands of London, United Kingdom
35. “White Dishes” by Stephanie Paine of Lafayette, Indiana
36. “Winnipeg Stories: Sacrificial Memories” by Clint Enns of Winnipeg, Canada

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR FINALISTS!!! We look forward to seeing everyone in Alys Beach tonight.

There’s a wonderful article about Digital Graffiti in the new issue of The Atlantan, plus a nice Alys Beach plug on the cover! Check out this quote from world-famous urban planner, Andrés Duany of DPZ.com:

“Projecting art onto the white buildings of Alys Beach
is the closest thing I’ve experienced to magic.”
- Andrés Duany

Pick up a copy of The Atlantan on the shelves now, or click here to check out the digital edition. We look forward to seeing all of our friends from Atlanta on Saturday, June 12th!

We would like to welcome Film Executive Paul Cohen to our 2010 panel of Digital Graffiti judges!

Paul is an independent motion picture executive, who has created a number of successful distribution and production companies including Analysis Films, Masada Productions, Moonbeam Productions, and Aries Films. He has acquired and marketed a wide range of successful films often recognized as cinematic gems and contemporary classics. These include Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel, Mephisto, the 1981 Academy Award-winner for Best Foreign Language Film, My Brilliant Career directed by first-timer Gillian Armstrong and starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill, The Chosen starring Maximilian Schell, and Luchino Visconti’s The Innocent.

As former CEO/President and co-founder of Manhattan Pictures International (MPI) in 2001, some of Mr. Cohen’s notable releases include Enigma, written by Oscar nominated Tom Stoppard and directed by Michael Apted, starring Kate Winslet and Dougray Scott, Jean-Luc
Godard’s critically acclaimed In Praise of Love (Eloge de L’Amour) and Alan Rudolph’s The Secret Lives of Dentists, starring Campbell Scott and Hope Davis.

More recently, Cohen released Off the Map, starring Joan Allen and Sam Elliott. Off the Map received positive critical recognition as the opening night film of the prestigious Semaine Internationale de la Critique at the Cannes International Film Festival as well as a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Mr. Cohen’s motion picture selections over the years have garnered Oscar nominations, Golden Globe, Spirit Award, Italy’s, Donatello and Frances, Cesar as well as other award recognition for their quality. His cinema acquisitions have played in film festivals across the country and around the world. Additionally, Paul Cohen has served in the capacity of Executive Producer on a number of independent productions.

Mr. Cohen was drawn to the State of Florida in the mid nineties where a sudden increase in motion picture production had just begun to take place. He was appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles to promote independent motion picture production in the state and was instrumental in founding the first Florida Film Forum. In 1996, Mr. Cohen co-founded, and oversaw the marketing and operation of the First Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival. Additionally, Paul Cohen served as a Filmmaker in Residence at the Graduate Film Conservatory at Florida State University, and regularly lectured at the University of Miami, Dade Community College, as well as other major Florida universities.

In 1997, Mr. Cohen and Carl Icahn formed Stratosphere Entertainment, a motion picture distribution and production company based in New York. As President of Stratosphere, Mr. Cohen was responsible for the acquisition, marketing and distribution of independent motion pictures including The Thief, the 1997 Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

A graduate of Hofstra University, Mr. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He has also completed postgraduate coursework at the Jungian Institute in New York and graduate work at the New School for Social Research. He has served as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Louis B. Wolfson Film & Television Archives as well as on the Academic Advisory Committee at Miami-Dade Community College.

He also served as President of the prestigious Independent Feature Project South (IFP/South), and has lectured on motion picture distribution at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, Columbia University, New York University’s Graduate Film School, and the Sundance Institute’s Producers Conference in Utah, where he traveled to lecture to industry members in locations such as Mexico and Jerusalem.

Mr. Cohen has served as a consultant to Showtime Networks Independent Film Initiative as well as other independent production companies. He served on the jury and board of numerous film festivals including the Chicago, Bermuda, Sunfest in Puerto Rico, Ft. Lauderdale, the South Beach Independent Film Festival, and is currently on the Hamptons International Film Festival advisory board, and most recently a consultant to the Tallahassee Film Festival.

Paul Cohen serves as the Director of The Torchlight Program, which was established by The Film School to enhance the education of students through instruction in current and emerging business practices of the motion picture industry.

Invite your friends & family to attend Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach on Saturday, June 12, and you could win a Mazda MX5 Miata! Simply email the new “Digital Graffiti” postcard at ShareaLittleSunshine.org to your buddies and they’ll receive 25% off festival tickets, PLUS $25 off their next Southwest Airlines flight … and you’ll be entered win a free Mazda MX5 Miata — CHECK IT OUT!

Organizers of the third annual “Digital Graffiti Festival at Alys Beach” said that they were overwhelmed by hundreds of extraordinary submissions from local, domestic and international artists.

Digital Graffiti is the world’s first projection art festival, where artists use the latest technologies to project their original video and interactive artworks onto the iconic white walls of an entire beach resort town.

“We received entries from all over the U.S. as well as from digital artists in 17 other countries, including places such as Slovenia, Poland, Mexico, Greece, Australia, Bulgaria, Israel, Scotland, Argentina, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and Belgium, among others,” said Kelli Arnold, Alys Beach’s Events Coordinator. “From a field of nearly 300 entries, our selection committees narrowed it down to 36 amazing finalists.”

On the night of Saturday, June 12th, those 36 finalists will compete for $10,000 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 “Best of Show” award sponsored by Alys Beach, a $2,000 prize for the most innovative/experimental creation sponsored by the Florida Office of Film & Entertainment, and a $1,000 “Best Local Submission” award sponsored by 30A.com. The 30A.com “Best Local Submission” honor will be awarded to an artist who resides full-time in Florida’s Walton, Bay, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Bay or Washington County.

Winners will ultimately be decided by a panel of celebrity and industry judges, including Alan Hunter, film producer and MTV’s very first “VJ”; Lucia Fishburne, The State of Florida’s Film Commissioner; Colleen Duffley, professional photographer and owner of Studio b; and Brett Phares, professor of interactive media at Marist College in New York, among others.

The festival will be held from 8:30pm until Midnight on Saturday, June 12th, 2010, rain or shine. Advanced tickets are on sale now at www.alysbeachevents.ticketleap.com. Tickets are $15 for adults (12+) and $5 for children (ages 3-12) until May 14th. From May 15 through June 11, tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for children. Any tickets sold at the event gate will be $25 for adults and $10 for children.

2010 DIGITAL GRAFFITI FESTIVAL AT ALYS BEACH FINALISTS

The following works have been selected for display and competition during the 2010 Digital Graffiti Festival at Alys Beach:

1. “Aesthetic Species Maps” by David Montgomery of Fernandina Beach, Florida
2. “Alys Beach 3D Structure Projection” by Christopher Lee of Dothan, Alabama
3. “Bombshell” by Don Relyea of Dallas, Texas
4. “Eye Spy” by Russell Beans of Seacrest, Florida
5. “Five Portraits in Five Minutes” by Kasumi of Cleveland, Ohio
6. “Flightpattern” by Gwen Vanhee of Zedelgem, Belgium
7. “Frosti” by Matt Pearson of Brighton, United Kingdom
8. “Geometry of Poi” by Kate Riegle – van West of Chicago, Illinois
9. “Greenray” by Andre Rangel of Portugal
10. “Human Flux” by Nikola Mihov of Sofia, Bulgaria
11. “Inner Klänge” by Lemeh42 of Moterado, Italy
12. “JD’s Fun House 2010″ by John Daniel of Panama City, Florida
13. “Kaleidoscopia” by Andy McKeown of Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
14. “Laser Art” by Christopher Lee of Dothan, Alabama
15. “Luminous Curiosities” by Christina Pierson of Los Angeles, California
16. “Moonlit McGill” by Amber Bushnell of Missoula, Montana
17. “Night Walkers” by Yandell Walton and Tobias J Edwards of Collingwood VIC, Australia
18. “Organic Cycles” by Kristen Regan of Pensacola, Florida
19. “Part of the Surge and Not the Sea” by Kevin Romoser of Wayne, New Jersey
20. “Planet Caliza” by Kurt Lischka of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
21. “Re-Birth” by Said Dokins and Mauricio Rodriguez of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico
22. “Resonance” by Charles Raffety of Missoula, Montana
23. “Roberto” by David Terranova of New York, New York
24. “SAN” by Jackson Petit of The Bahamas
25. “Sousbleu” by Gwen Vanhee of Zedelgem, Belgium
26. “Take Care” by Matt Pearson of Brighton, United Kingdom
27. “The Ancient Mariner” by Michael Burton of Lincoln, Nebraska
28. “Transmission (32 channels)” by Sam Holden of London, United Kingdom
29. “True Fictions: Home of the Brave” by The Light Surgeons of London, United Kingdom
30. “UGOKU” by Kasumi of Cleveland, Ohio
31. “untitled_(memory)” by Matthew West of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
32. “Vacio” by Daniel Ivan of Amecameca, Mexico
33. “Void?” by Bala Boyd of Freeport, Florida
34. “Walkers” by Nick Rands of London, United Kingdom
35. “White Dishes” by Stephanie Paine of Lafayette, Indiana
36. “Winnipeg Stories: Sacrificial Memories” by Clint Enns of Winnipeg, Canada

Sincere thanks to the hundreds of artists worldwide who submitted amazing works of video art this year, and congrats and good luck to this year’s 36 finalists!