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Media That Matters Film Helps Put DVD Journal on Best Magazines List

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THE JOURNAL OF SHORT FILM named on BEST MAGAZINES OF 2005 list; Volume 3 (Spring 2006) is released; inevitable JSF Blog begun

Columbus, OH (May 16, 2006) The Journal of Short Film has become the first DVD publication to make the Top 10 list of BEST MAGAZINES for 2005. The May 1st issue of The Library Journal—a leading trade magazine for libraries and publishers—listed the JSF alongside such popular new titles as Knitscene and Dell Extreme Sudoku. (Read the article at libraryjournal.com The Media That Matters Film Festival (5) winner "Battleground Minnesota" was included in Volume 2 of the JSF.

The staff of the JSF considers the listing a confirmation of short film’s commercial appeal and a validation of DVD serials, in general. The listing counts as a coup especially for the independent and experimental kinds of film the JSF publishes.

“Not only are we happy to publish a new group of independent filmmakers every three months,” says publisher Karl Mechem, “but proving short film’s popular appeal is a major step in the democratization of film that motivated us from the beginning.”

---The listing coincides with the release of The Journal of Short Film, Volume 3 (Spring 2006). As always, the volume contains a dynamic mix of narrative, documentary, and experimental film and video. Film lovers that are too busy going to knitting retreats and Sudoku tournaments to make it to Sundance or Tribeca or Toronto are in luck—most of the films in Volume 3 appeared at these festivals.

Films in Volume 3 include “The Tribe” by Tiffany Shlain, “Hello, Thanks” by recent Rockefeller Fellowship winner Andy Blubaugh, and the experimental films “High Plains Winter” by Cindy Stillwell and “Food of the Brave” by Andrew Bucksbarg and Michele Darling. More humorous films include “Bob Log III’s Electric Fence Story” by Stock’n’Wolf.

---On the day of the release, the JSF will launch its blog. Mechem says a blog was inevitable. With the release of Volume 3, the JSF has published thirty filmmakers, and The JSF Blog (www.theJSF.org/blog) will chronicle their world. “These filmmakers are the vanguard of the film world, so tracking and conversing with this group will be a great resource for other filmmakers and for the film-curious.”

The Journal’s democratic leanings are not just rhetorical. The DVD magazine has an open submissions process and claims to be non-corporate and ad-free. It also keeps the cost of subscriptions low ($36/subscription for 4 volumes, $10/vol.). The JSF is available at www.theJSF.org and amazon.com.

Contact: Karl Mechem, publisher, The Journal of Short Film, contact@theJSF.org

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