Actor James Caan’s Openfilm to award $1 million film financing prize in indie film contest

Online global independent film community Openfilm announced that it will award $1 million to independent filmmakers over the next 20 months. One independent filmmaker will be selected to receive $50,000 in cash and $200,000 in financing every 5 months by the Openfilm community of 20,000 registered film enthusiasts, along with some of the world’s preeminent actors, writers, directors and producers.

Openfilm is now accepting entries for its first round of competition. Registered Openfilm community members at all membership levels are eligible to enter their projects to win the first quarterly award of $250,000 in independent film funding.

Actor and producer James Caan heads Openfilm’s Advisory Board, which also includes Oscar and Emmy award-winning actor Robert Duvall, Oscar-winning On Golden Pond director Mark Rydell of The Actors Studio, and James’ son, filmmaker and actor Scott Caan. The Advisory Board will participate in online chats with filmmakers, provide feedback on selected films and judge top submissions as part of Openfilm’s contests, with the ultimate objective of transforming the way independent films are discovered, financed and distributed.

“When it comes to making movies, the Internet is changing the rules for independent filmmakers – yet no one has been able to crack the code and deliver results for filmmakers,” said James Caan, Chairman of the Openfilm Advisory Board. “Openfilm levels the playing field and allows people from all over the world to participate in the creation, production and distribution of film in the mainstream.” He adds, “We are providing a forum for filmmakers to show their work, a vehicle for them to interact with influential Hollywood insiders and most importantly, capital and the connections they’ll need to catapult their careers.”

Each quarter, filmmakers can compete on Openfilm.com to win a management and financing package to produce a feature length film. Members of the Openfilm community will have the opportunity to watch and rate the entries online. The six most popular short films will move on to the next phase, and will then be presented to the Advisory Board that will select the final filmmaker who will be fast-tracked to Openfilm Studios for development, financing and production.

For the past year, Openfilm has been building a community of 300,000 visitors per month, which includes filmmakers, festivals, film schools and enthusiasts. Openfilm’s film library includes nearly 5,000 films of all lengths and genres, which are showcased in a large HD player on the Internet.

The site offers both free and premium accounts that give members the opportunity to submit their films, gain potential revenue, customize their personal channel, and – with premium level membership – get access to Openfilm’s Advisory Board through live web cam chats, and sell downloadable versions of their work.

Find out more info on how to enter the competition at Openfilm.com.