Editor

I'VE SEEN FILMS, founded by international artist Rutger Hauer, Under the Patronage of the Milano Municipality, the Consulate General of the Netherlands, AGIS Lombarda and the Lombardia Film Commission announced today the Festival's Screening Program

231 short films have been selected for its International Competition!

The complete list of titles and the program can be found on http://www.icfilms.org/

CNR Media is the Festival's Official Media Partner

With 231 works from 70 countries, the ‘I've Seen Films' International Competition provides one of the largest and more innovative celebrations to film and culture. All the International Competition's selected short films will be screened during the Festival's 10-day period in the following three venues downtown Milan: Centre Culturel Français, THECA and Milano Municipality's Gnomo Milano Cinema.

By purchasing the Gnomo Milano Cinema Yearly Membership Card for Euro2,60 (approx. US$3.50) screening tickets are free for all the Festival's days.

These 231 films are competing for the following awards:

* ''20th Century Fox H. E.'' Best Short Film in Competition Award (including a free admission to next ''Rutger

     Hauer FilmFactory Masterclass'')
* ''EUNIC'' Best Fiction Award
* ''AGIS Lombarda'' Best First Work Award
* ''MyMovies'' Best Documentary Award
* ''CortoWeb'' Best Experimental Award
* ''IFQ Independent Film Quarterly'' Best Animation Award
* ''CNR Media'' Best Videoclip Award
* ''Lombardia Film Commission'' Best Actor Award
* ''Best Movie'' Best Actress Award
* ''President of the Italian Republic'' Best Social Awareness Short Film Award

In addition to its International Competition, ‘I've Seen Films' will also assign two awards to the competing works in its ongoing Internet Contest: the ''20th Century Fox H. E.'' Jury Award (assigned by the International Jury) and the ''20th Century Fox H. E.'' Internet Audience Award.

Furthermore, thanks to the recently signed agreement with the Microcinema Digital Network, the ‘I've Seen Films' competing films will be broadcast to Microcinema's network theaters via satellite and the Award Evening will be aired live, thus paving yet another unexplored path in the film festival world. An increasingly expanding audience will have the possibility to enjoy, in digitalized theaters, the best original works of authors from all over the world. This project is made possible by the advanced satellite technology of the European Space Agency (ESA) and its ‘Innovative Satellite Interactive Digital Entertainment (ISIDE).

I've Seen Films is the first festival whereby a short film competition is judged by an International Jury formed by so many notable artistic talents and experts of the cinematography sector. This clearly marks a turning point in this field. The 2009 Jury members are : director and producer Ridley Scott; director and producer Robert Rodriguez; director, composer and producer Lech Majewski; writer, producer and director Christopher Nolan; actress Miranda Richardson; director, producer and writer Paul Verhoeven; director and producer Eugenio Cappuccio; photographer, director, producer and writer Anton Corbijn; producer, director and writer Bill Bristow; film essayist and TV author Daniela Catelli; film festival artistic director and writer Teresa Cavina; film critic, university lecturer and writer Roberto Nepoti; writer and director Jeremy Eynon and Rutger Hauer.

Since its 2008 inception, I've Seen Films has held the distinction of being the first short film festival to screen the authors works in a masterful, high-definition digitalized version.

Rutger Hauer will personally award the Festival winners during the Award evening. The film authors, along with their works, will become the Festival's real protagonists.