See Faintheart for free

World's first user-generated feature film gets free UK screenings.

by Amber Wilkinson

Battle re-enactment comedy Faintheart will be screened for free at 150 cinemas across the UK on January 27, ahead of its DVD release on February 2.

The battle re-enactment comedy has been breaking new ground since its inception as MovieMashUp - an initiative by MySpace, Vertigo Films and Film4 that "sought to harness the collective creativity of the world’s largest online community", which saw members of the MySpaceUK selected as cast and crew.

Sally Caplan, Head of the UK Film Council’s Premiere Fund, which is supporting the release, said: "This whole project has been a great experiment for film in the digital age right from the very beginning, so I am delighted to see this followed through with an exciting and novel distribution plan to reach out to audiences far and wide."

The screening move, comes just a month after Revolver broke new ground with Mum And Dad, releasing it simultaneously online, in cinemas and on DVD.

And the Faintheart MySpace community are being invited to decide in which towns the film will be shown.

The ‘Heart Map’ application enables fans to enter their postcode on the profile (www.myspace.com/faintheartthemovie) and discover the nearest town that could potentially screen the film.

Every time a heart is cast it will visibly grow on the map to reflect the increase of hits in that are.

To show their appreciation to the online community, on January 27, Faintheart will also be streamed free of charge for one day only on its MySpace profile, ahead of the DVD release.

James Fabricant, Director of Business Development and Media, Europe for MySpace and one of the film’s producers, said: "In Faintheart we have created an entirely new model of film creation. "The MySpace community has been involved with every step of the production and we felt this innovative project wouldn’t be complete without their involvement at the final stage."

Rupert Preston, of Vertigo Films added: "The industry is beginning to experiment with the traditional distribution windows, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to do something different and exciting with Faintheart.”

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