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New Screen Television - See great independent media and get your work seen, submit now!

New Screen Television launched on August 12th 2005 and its founders already have great aspirations for this independent channel. Their goal is 80 million households- an audience that independent films rarely envision of reaching.

Before its inception, the team at New Screen TV looked to the independent film community and asked, "What happened with the short filmmakers made three years ago? How can they continue to access the audience that needs to see their work?" The unfortunate and typical answer they encountered was, “We did the festival circuit, won some awards and then we moved on.” New Screen TV was designed with these filmmakers in mind to help extend the film's screening life and audience base.

New Screen Television’s Mark Astrom, admittedly admires PBS, Sundance and HBO as they are all great venues for alternative and small films, but they have limits and restrictions to the media they can broadcast. “Every day here at New Screen TV I see new work, inspiring work! These films, whether animation, documentary, short or feature, deserve to be seen,” says Astrom. He adds, “We created New Screen TV for these filmmakers and the film loving-audience that is looking for something other than cinema that has been boiled down for mass consumption.”

New Screen TV started broadcasting 24/7 on August 12th, 2005 in Orlando, Florida. Unlike other film channels, New Screen TV has been designed to open a portal – and be a venue – for independent films and videos of all genres, and all running times, to be broadcast to a broad audience.

The company currently transmits the channel via WRCF-TV Channel 29 in Orlando, home to the 20th largest TV audience in the U.S., with over 1.3 million households. “New Screen TV is not yet a pay-tv channel nor is it public access, rather, it is a traditional TV channel. “Orlando residents can see Channel 29 with an antenna. Old school? Yes. But it is also free” says New Screen TV’s General Manager Rick Erikson. He adds, “Channel 29 is only the first step toward the end goal of tens of millions of viewers. We needed to start broadcasting – to launch the channel. Now, we are in negotiations with cable, satellite, and pay-tv companies that can deliver our channel to millions of households. New Screen TV is about to become extremely interesting to a large number of filmmakers.”

New Screen TV was established on three principle ideas:

First, good films are being turned out in greater numbers than ever before. This creative community, as well as the established arts community, are creating interesting and thought provoking work while mass media outlets have not been able to keep up. There is content that needs a venue, and New Screen TV is turning into that venue.

Second, with roughly 2,000 film festivals around the world to choose from, good films are still short lived. When compared to the number of TV channels that specifically program independent films, you recognize a vital and creative category of entertainment is being under-served.

Lastly, the growth in digital technology is feeding ever-greater numbers of filmmakers, and at the same time it has made it possible for a small, independent TV channel like New Screen TV to get started. Ultimately, these same technological advances will lead to films being available online – and New Screen TV has a plan to maximize that opportunity for filmmakers, too.
“New Screen TV has a natural ability to work with filmmakers by promoting their films through our programming. This exposure, and opportunity, in a time of mass media consolidation, is invaluable and important,” says Astrom.

New Screen TV learned early on that the channel could do more than just help filmmakers. The channel also provides exposure for the various organizations that foster the vision of individual filmmakers, support independent productions, etc. Organizations as wide ranging as the Media Education Foundation in Boston, various artist collectives, and art funding organizations like United Arts of Central Florida, are touched by New Screen TV – each with integral roles in sustaining their local art and film communities. Naseem Shah, Director of Programming added, “These are but a sampling of the organizations with whom we are currently working. We will always be open to working with organizations that work to support and cultivate the art and film communities.” Shah adds, “For instance, we recently – and with great success – co-sponsored several local screenings of Josh Goldbloom’s film, “Heroin Town,” at the Downtown Media Arts Center in Orlando. We are engaging the greater community in Orlando, and we believe we can help do the same arts community-building around the country, if not the world.”

The team at New Screen TV knows that there are many great organizations and filmmakers across the country – and around the world – that would benefit from television distribution. New Screen TV plans to collaborate with many like-minded organizations to spread awareness of the important missions of other media organizations.

Astrom concluded by saying, “Our intentions, my intentions, are to share with you – fellow filmmakers, artists, activists and organizations – the opportunity to have your visions and voices seen and heard on New Screen TV.”

How can you take part?

Upon visiting www.newscreen.tv you will see that the call for entries for 2005 have closed. However, Naseem Shah has offered a special deadline extension until October 15th to MediaRights members. Shah adds, “As part of our call, we have created the New Screen Television New Vision Awards, and they will be awarded the first week in December. The prizes total $17,500 in cash. If we pushed date back any further, we might not be able to guarantee that all submitted films would be reviewed and eligible.”

The homogenization of filmmaking and television by corporate ownership and censorship are slowly eroding the overall quality of television programming, and New Screen TV would like to see that change. Films are completed every day, proving that the advent of technology is upon us. The barrier of entry is evaporating. Thus filmmakers and artists are able to make films that are true to their vision, they need not boil down perspectives for mass consumption. Independently made films are an essential component in fulfilling the New Screen TV mission, and the hope, with your help, filmmakers can be better supported and recognized by the inclusion of their passionate and thought provoking films in the New Screen TV programming.

Starts	9/14/2005
Ends	10/15/2005
Issues	Media, Digital Media, Fair Representation, Media Literacy
Homepage	www.newscreenbroadcasting.com
Contact	info@newscreen.tv