This year’s Cardiff Screen Festival (9^th – 19^th November) is to become fully interactive with the introduction of a ‘Big Brother’ style voting system as part of a new website that was launched by Sequence on the 10^th of October as the programme of this year’s event goes live.

The festival (formally the International Film Festival of Wales) is now in its 17^th year. Showcasing the best Welsh talent in an international context the festival is set to screen 50 feature films, over 100 international short films and present 30 Behind the Scenes events in Cardiff - Europe’s youngest capital.

This year the decision for the Festival’s new ‘Audience Award’ is placed firmly at the fingertips of the viewer. Filmgoers are actively encouraged (through captions displayed before and after the film) to make their vote by either texting the name of their preferred film (or films!) to 81066 or by visiting the festival website. The total number of web and SMS votes will then be used to select a winner, who’ll be announced online on the 20^th of November.

"It’s great for us to be able to open up audience participation in this way," said Hannah Raybould, Marketing Manager for the Cardiff Screen Festival. "Love them or hate them, we’ve all got mobiles, and what Sequence have delivered will allow people to react immediately to what they see – if a film really hits home, then they can give it the recognition it deserves".

Ruth Thomas, Sequence Project Manager said "We’re really pleased to put such converging technologies to use. Online and SMS voting is nothing new, however what really flicks our switch is the ability for a viewer to make their mark, there and then."

The new site also features the complete shortlist for the prestigious DM Davies Award being available for ‘on demand’ video streaming. For the first time, this year the public will be able to view the record 69 entries for the Award - the largest short film prize in Europe.

"It’s the public that make a festival a success, and we’re proud to work with Sequence to ‘open up’ as much of the festival as we can" says Berwyn Rowlands, Festival Artistic Director.

"It’s all about removing barriers and preconceptions that are often associated with the industry, and establish the next generation of Welsh producers. I’m confident that by us actively embracing the available technology it can really help in our efforts of getting that message across".

Richard Baker, Sequence Managing Director and streaming specialist concluded "Broadband has really made video delivery over the Internet a reality, and we were delighted to work with the festival team to see a genuinely good, real-world use of the latest webcasting technology".