Go to...
The International Unseen Film Festival 'Social Films' from Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain) is organized by Kultura, Communication y Desarrollo KCD NGOD; Organization dedicated to promoting a human, intercultural, equitable and sustainable development through Communication and Culture.
The International Unseen Film Festival 'Social Films' from Bilbao is an annual celebration dedicated to show a cinema full of diversity and social commitment, a cinema that is usually excluded from commercial screens.
The Festival is centered on four major themes: Sustainable Development, Human Rights, Interculturality and Gender Equity.
With its continuous work, it has become an indispensable appointment for all those interested in communication for development and social transformation.
The Festival is also a recognition of all people who make a communication that allows to reflect through their audiovisual works all those different causes and problems of humanity.
One of the longest running film festivals of its kind worldwide. It is a short film festival open to non-professional productions, film school students as well as commercial productions. It is held annually during the last week of November.
FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/maltacine.circle/
LIFE AFTER OIL International Film Festival is an environmental & human rights film festival
As we are preparing for the post-petroleum era?
This festival starts with the intention of overshooting the simple exposure. Although it is important to raise public awareness on the risks connected to the exploitation and to the use of natural resource in the production of fossil fuels, still remains, the enormous and dramatic problem of the disasters caused by the lack of energy, with particular reference to the water supply, highly relevant to the world population. The main objective of the festival will be, therefore, not only emphasizing problems related to the use of fossil fuels, but especially identifying the alternatives which take into account, according to the present scientific knowledge, the several well-known methods of production.
We aim creating a film competition for the adventure travelers with film making capabilities, ambitious in gaining visibility and hence improving their chances to finance future projects and adventures.
The main goals are to stimulate creativity and the adventure market with a credible and well-organized and advertised event.
“To offer an Overland thematic experience in a drive-in format, in a nature surrounding , creating a film competition to stimulate creativity and energize the overland market, whilst promoting to explore the countryside less known.”
GOSH! A DAMN GOOD FILM FESTIVAL
Independent & International Film Festival in Paris, GOSH! is dedicated to international short films screenings. The festival aims to bring to Paris films loved all around the world or brand new talents!
GOSH! loves all genres of independent cinema: short films, documentaries, animations, any language and any genre accepted. All equal for good cinema.
IMDB certified and screening to our usual audience, each edition GOSH! tries to provide a unique experience to the audience.
- IMDB certified awards
- Media partner "Cinéma des Potes" reporting the event
- International jury, lead by wellknown artists such as Pierre-Emmanuel Barré, Vikash Dhorasoo or Laura Satana
- Text interview for winners, on our website
- original certificate for award winners
- Individual feedback for all the movies in competition
- French subtitles by GOSH! (if English SRT file available)
- A damn cool festival!
PROCESS
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Each film is seen and rated by a committee of three persons, including Gosh Film Festival organizers: Magali Souart and Fabio Soares.
All the movies are seen by the committee, there is no “pass by” accepted.
Members of the committee can’t be involved in any way, in movies taking part of the official selection.
JURY
The jury is composed by professionals from TV & Cinema, the list and CV of GOSH! Jury are available on our website.
The jury takes in Paris and decide about the awards, except the audience award, given by the audience.
GOSH! Film Festival organizers do not take part to the jury and respect their final decisions.
MEDIA
GOSH! Film Festival screening is covered by our media partner "Cinéma des Potes", and several media with special accreditations.
Submit now to the stirandfry short film competition!
We are looking for original, engaging films and especially want to celebrate filmmakers working with minimal resources.
CATEGORIES (live action and animation)
- Narrative
- Documentary
- Experimental
- Music video
Next screenings:
December 11, 2020 → Ulysse, Onet le Château, France
December 8, 2020 → Votiv Kino, Vienna, Austria
November 26, 2020 → Le Dôme, Québec, Québec
November 13-15 → Black Box Theatre, Drysdale, Australia
November 12, 2020 → Brookes Doc Club, Oxford, UK
September 23, 2020 → 3C, Aix-en-Provence, France
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
“99.media is a carefully curated selection of documentaries from around the world swooping down into extraordinary lives.” — Rob Alderson, WePresent
99.media is a new kind of documentary film festival: both online and in real life.
It is a free and not-for-profit video platform streaming documentaries in 6 languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Italian) + a series of live screenings in different cities where our languages are spoken.
Our objective is to democratize documentaries thanks to multilingualism and to help filmmakers get wider audiences and more impact.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"99.media has embarked on a beautiful campaign to share films with the world. Subtitling my film from Arabic and English into a half-dozen languages opens the door for cross-cultural impact in ways I’ve always dreamed about. Their initiative to share powerful works of art with the world is a noble calling, and I’ve watched as my film has reached new people. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have my film play on their platform."
— Matthew K. Firpo, filmmaker
"99.media translated my documentary into 5 additional languages, ultimately helping the film reach a much wider audience, and become globally relevant. Films are made to be seen, and reaching an international audience like this is invaluable”.
— Lukas Schrank, filmmaker
“My short documentary was translated into 5 languages by 99.media, which helped it gain a lot more exposure and massively increased its global reach. I have a lot of respect for, and trust in the team, who has always dealt with me in a professional and honest fashion and who I believe has a real passion for short film and a lot of respect for filmmakers.”
— Andy Oxley, filmmaker
“Social World Film Festival” is the most emotional festival in the world with events, movies, previews, innovative activities, jury of young people and professionals, workshops, competitions, presentations and thousands of visitors.
The thirteenth edition of the International Social Cinema Festival “Social World Film Festival” will take place from 2nd July to 9th July 2023 in Vico Equense (Sorrento Coast - Italy) between activities in presence and innovative streaming modes aimed as always to ensure the interaction, direct and in connection, of the authors with the audience of the event.
The winners of the competitive selections are awarded during the Gala Night scheduled for the thirteenth edition in Vico Equense (Sorrento Coast - Italy).
Participating to the International Festival of Social Cinema “Social World Film Festival” offers some specially selected works the exclusive possibility to be presented in events organized worldwide thats in the last ten years, we have involved 28 cities in 40 events on five continents including Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Wien, Washington DC, Seoul, Busan, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Cannes, Monte Carlo, Paris, Istanbul, San Francisco, Tokyo, Sydney, Marseilles, Palma, Tunis, Hong Kong, Jakarta.
Following the great success of the First and Second Edition of the Asylum Fantastic Fest, which in 2019 saw over 2,500 admissions, over 30 Italian and international guests, about 300 films sent for selection, and in 2020, over 70,000 contacts in streaming, the 'Department of Culture of Valmontone and the OutOut Art Workshop open the selections for the Third Edition.
Born from the idea of the Founder Claudio Miani, it is located in the heart of Lazio, in Valmontone, to become a reference point at national and international level for lovers of the genre, in a vision of long-term cultural project capable of bringing further emphasis , prestige and tourism to the entire territorial area.
An Art Festival as a "living cultural" project, where we do not just want to understand the culture in which we live, the actualization of the theme and the expressive form linked to the world of Horror and Fantastico, but with a wider range, all those experiences with their own roots and those evolutions developed by them, which in the positive sense of globalization interchange themselves in new cultural realities. It is therefore a question of interpreting a world by giving it a new form, perceiving its contents and aspirations in order to manifest them and communicate them through cinema, literature, music, performing arts, comics, animation and live contests. A research full of stimuli and hints, of new linguistic compositions and symbolic horizons, which are best expressed in a visual, narrative and structured diegesis, able to offer new genre perspectives.
The main purpose of the Asylum Fantastic Fest is to provide real visibility and support to the excellence of horror creativity, promoting realities and works that are able to provide new content readings and above all to confront the new 2.0 languages. The search for new trends and the opening up to currently non-standardized basins, allows us to guarantee the realization of a Festival capable of acting as a multi-year point of reference for a current that has always been looking for stimuli and developments. An event that wants to be an opportunity to stimulate collaboration between young Italian and international artists, offering moments of meeting and exchange for the sections present at the Festival.
Contamination is the word that contains sufficiently and clearly the importance that the Asylum Horror Fest reserves in this first edition and will reserve in those to come, the encounter between the different artistic forms. Working in a non-formal environment, where all the entities involved will be jointly responsible for the organization, it will be possible to reach the common goal of creating an expressive context where each of the participants can express their creative potential.
NISFFI is a Film Festival that BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER to recognize and value the Filmmakers.
We welcome movie producers from everywhere throughout the world to present their movies to our universal short film celebration which will occur in NISFFI. Our judges value the auteur Cinema – films made with an extraordinary aesthetic vision. The goal of our festival is to find new talented filmmakers who will be able to approach the heights of cinematography created by geniuses.
Established in 2017, the Nashik International Short Film Festival of India is the longest-running, biggest, and most broadly perceived strange film fest. As a network occasion with a yearly participation of more than 500 people. Nashik Short Film Festival is an autonomous film celebration that puts the focus on short movies – a classification that lamentably doesn’t get the standard consideration it needs. We acknowledge entries from around the globe and urge you to bring the outing down-under to celebrate with your film and commitment with us.
The North East International Film Festival is the youngest BIFA qualifying and IMDB qualifying festival, one of only 80 festivals worldwide to adopt the F-Rating, representing females in film, the first EVER festival to sign up to the BBC 50/50 Equality Project, making that organisational commitment to diversity and the first EVER festival to receive the Raising Films Ribbon for creating an inclusive space for Filmmaker, Audience and our Team!
The NEIFF has been shortlisted for the prestigious BAFTA For The Love Of Film Awards Competition 2022, for the Makers & Shakers Awards for Initiative To Grow Local Industry, The Small Awards under the category New Kid On The Block and the Inclusive Companies Awards. Our Festival Director has also recently been added to the Northern Power Women 2022 Future List for her efforts in supporting and accelerating gender equality through the NEIFF.
We are in partnership with BBC Radio and Regalier Magazine which is the worlds first online global, luxury magazine. One of our official distribution partners is Opprime TV. All of our festival award winners will automatically be offered the option of screening their films on the Opprime TV platform. The Filmmaker will receive a percentage of all subscriptions. Other partners include Lexus, Northumbria Clear, Titan Media & Close Protection, No Worries Marketing, Northumbria University, Newcastle University and more. The NEIFF is also in partnership with iPitch.tv. All of our festival Winners will be awarded a complimentary 12 month code for iPitch.tv and every Official Selection will be awarded a complimentary 3 month code. even more reason to submit!
About iPitch: Industry members in their marketplace are scouting for Feature Film and Television projects for all the major networks, studios and platforms. These Executive Members include:
Discovery Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment Television, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, Echo Lake Entertainment, Relativity Television, CBS, WEtv, Authentic Entertainment, Forman Productions, Infinity Media Inc., Little Studio Films, Leftfield Pictures, Brian Graden Media... to name a few.
Their site also features educational content and interviews with industry notables such as: Mike Medavoy, Doug Mankoff, and Douglas Ross who share their experience and personal insights for our up and coming filmmakers and creatives.
The NEIFF is proud to be partnered with the European Independent Film Festival which is in it's 17th edition, takes place in Paris annually and is currently partnered with many renowned festivals and the New York Independent Film Festival Manhattan. This will allow not only our Filmmakers the option to have their work screened amongst other top films in Paris and New York but also allows our audiences the opportunity to view even more new and diverse works.
The North East International Film Festival is the World's most inclusive, collaborative and diverse female-founded film festival, connecting Filmmakers and Film-goers through an array of exciting film related activities and events. This is a festival in every sense of the word.
The NEIFF is humbled to have the support of our regions Universities and is proud to confirm the participation of 55 student volunteers and placements so far.
Our categories include the standard submission categories as well as Best LGBTQ+, Best Low/No Budget, Best Student Film and our VisABLE category which is to represent disability in all it's forms.
Our event is a 3 day theme park of award winning films to take place in various locations, through our 7 cinema partners, throughout the North East Region from 17th - 20th November 2022. Our Cinema partners range from independent, volunteer-led cinemas to 13 screen chain cinemas.
The festival is to include one off special screenings of award-winning films with cast and crew Q&A’s, VIP networking events, free, educational, film related workshops delivered by industry professionals and three full day screenings of finalist films. The festival will culminate in a Closing Awards Gala, with welcome drinks, networking/mingling and media opportunities, a 3 course gourmet Artisan meal, live music, entertainment and special guests.
Award trophies will be custom made and will be presented for each of the submission categories as well as for Audience Choice Award and Best of the Fest.
Come and join us to appreciate stunning locations, regional specialities and the world famous Geordie hospitality.
ACTRUM is a non-profit Cultural Association that works in all areas of the artistic sector.
In this festival, the finalist works will be screened online and it will be open to the public, who will have to vote through our website for their 3 favorite shorts/feature films from each section to award the public prizes.
Register your project! We accept any gender.
Online Isolation Short Videos Festival is the online event dedicated to the fight against Coronavirus situation in the World. The main aim of the festival is to support people in their self-isolation during these difficult times. The festival is arranged by the same organisators who run the popular Russian International Horror Film Festival and Awards “DROP”. The goal of the festival is to entertain people in self-isolation. Submitters can be both professional filmmakers, bloggers and ordinary amateur videographers. We accept only short videos shot by a smartphone or any other device not longer than 59 minutes and not shorter than 5 seconds. Each video should have some concrete message. It can be of any genre. But all videos must tell some story of your home isolation, describe your way of life in the present-day situation.
Now it is already the 4th edition of the festival. And we decided to enlarge the scope of the topic: the festival is dedicated not only to pandemic lockdown, but also to any sort of personal isolation: spiritual, mental, physical. It is dedicated to people’s loneliness in the World, to the human search of the essence of life and the source of love and freedom.
MWFIFF is an International Film Festival, which promotes new filmmakers, students, professionals by exchanging of knowledge, information, cultures, through movies. This will be 2 days Event with LIVE Screening & Award Ceremony along with Entertainment Programme in the heart of Mumbai city, India.
All Categories, All Genres All Languages are Accepted from All Continents including the Music Videos.
*English Subtitle is Compulsory.
*DCP / J2K File would be Compulsory if the film is selected for Screening in the Film Festival or Extra Cost would be charged if the filmmakers wants us to convert the file for the same. Extra Cost For the Film Conversion Would be $25 per movie.
We will be screening ONLY selected movies. Final Winners will be Awarded with Lady Trophy and Certificates. Nominated, Participants will be receiving Certificates ONLY. All the Awards and Certificates will be given by our Panel of Jury listed on our website and also by the Chief Guest, Bollywood Celebrities, VIP's guest etc present on the day of the Event. FOR more Updates please visit our websites: www.mwfiff.com
Juries
We have Jury From Radio Mirchi 98.3fm , World Famous Singer, Film Producer, Director, Choreographer International TV fame Personality and many more on the list.
Film or music video can be submitted directly through our website : www.mwfiff.com , www.festhome.com/f/4015 , OR (youtube / Vimeo, / Google Drive, like platforms) and sending us link ( and password if protected ),
In case of using submission platforms like Festhome, or any other platforms Press Kit, Film Posters, DCP file etc MUST be E-mailed to - contact@mwfiff.com, in order to complete submission.
Other Requirements :
Crew & Cast List including the technical team, Filmography of the Film director.
1. ( One Photograph of Director ).
2. ( Two Posters of film in JPEG format COMPULSORY (300 dpi, 768 x 1169 - pixel size) and (300 dpi, 3508 x 4961 - Pixel size)
Your film's trailer link not more than 1 minute in duration (Optional, for promotion & publicity purpose)
Direct Online i.e. submissions through our website : www.mwfiff.com
Step 1- Submit your film or music video through our direct online page available on our website : www.mwfiff.com/submission then share the link of your film or music video ( e.g. youtube, Vimeo, Google Drive etc) which is protected with the password, you will be required to mention the URL of your project in our direct online form.
Step 2- E-mail the "FILM PRESS KIT" to - contact@mwfiff.com ( NO HARD COPIES, ONLY SOFT COPIES TO BE E-MAILED )
Step 3- Pay the Appropriate Entry Fee to complete the registration.
Other Requirements :
Crew & Cast List including the technical team, Filmography of the Film director.
1. ( One Photograph of Director ).
2. ( Two Posters of film in JPEG format COMPULSORY (300 dpi, 768 x 1169 - pixel size) and (300 dpi, 3508 x 4961 - Pixel size)
Your film's trailer link not more than 1 minute in duration (Optional, for promotion & publicity purpose)
Direct Online Downloadable Film or Music Video Form i.e. submissions through our website by downloading form : www.mwfiff.com/submission
Step 1- Submit your film or music video by downloading the entry form through our website : www.mwfiff.com/submission
Step 2- Fill the form and email it to- contact@mwfiff.com along with "FILM PRESS KIT" ( NO HARD COPIES, ONLY SOFT COPIES TO BE E-MAILED )
Step 3- Pay the Appropriate Entry Fee to complete the registration.
Other Requirements :
Crew & Cast List including the technical team, Filmography of the Film director.
1. ( One Photograph of Director ).
2. ( Two Posters of film in JPEG format COMPULSORY (300 dpi, 768 x 1169 - pixel size) and (300 dpi, 3508 x 4961 - Pixel size)
Your film's trailer link not more than 1 minute in duration (Optional, for promotion & publicity purpose)
Award Ceremony Event Venue :
Balgandharva Rangmandir ( Sheila Gopal Raheja Auditorium ) 24th and 32nd Road, near to Patwardhan Udyan, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400050
Film Screening Venue :
INOX Metro
Mahatma Gandhi Road, Dhobi Talao, New Marine Lines, Junction, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400020
Launched in 1980, our festival, the first of its category in South Korea, has grown and evolved from the Korean Short Film Festival, to become the Busan Asian Short Film Festival in 2000 and eventually the Busan International Short Film Festival in 2010 (www.bisff.org).
Taking place late April at the Busan Cinema Center, BISFF delivers a dozen awards in three competitive sections (International Competition, Korean Competition and Operation Kino) while also presenting several curated, non-competitive sections including: Guest Country, Korean Shorts, Asian Shorts, Prism, 3D Cinema, etc.
BISFF is a member of the Short Film Conference (http://shortfilmconference.com/) and of the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema https://netpacasia.org). In 2018, it became South Korea’s first Oscar®-qualifying festival.
Long Story Shorts is a dynamic international festival, connecting the audience to short films, music videos, documentaries, and screenplays from around the globe.
The LSS Competition is monthly based, with a total of 12 monthly selections & screenings in a competitional year.
Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talents as well as experienced filmmakers, Long Story Shorts takes the way visual stories are shared and experienced to a higher level.
❗All Films accepted in the Official Selection will be given a benefits pack worth 350$:
• iPitchTV 3 months studio licence worth 117$
• Filmstro 1-Year Pro Licence Exclusive discount worth up to 125$
• DCP2GO Exclusive Discount for mastering services worth 125$
❗❗BEST SHORT FILM will get a FREE Trophy, Official Screening, Certificate Award and:
• Cloud19 Full DCP Service Pack worth 299$
• iPitchTV 12 months studio licence worth 299$
• Filmstro 1-Year Pro Licence Exclusive discount worth up to 125$
Our vision is to create an opportunity for independent filmmakers to have their work screened and judged. We believe in the potential of the public of becoming a significant actor in contributing to the development of the filmmaking process and we aim to engage them in discovering the potential of the online to the cinematic culture.
This year, we take the film screenings along with the stories right in the historic city of Râmnicu-Vâlcea, an idyllic mountain oasis, also having the reputation all around the world as 'Hackerville'.
An emerging cultural hub with a huge cinema audience potential, Râmnicu-Vâlcea will bring the uniqueness of the online festivals into a well-known creative environment for all film enthousiasts.
ABY Stage Bar is a renowed meeting point for those seeking both traditional and alternative expressions of cinematography.
The best entries will be selected and screened every month a year. We will publish the results of the Official Selection every last day of the month, according to the Submission Notification sent in advance and the Official Screenings will take place the next month.
A jury of film professionals will review all eligible submitted films, evaluating from an independent point of view, seeking the energy and new ideas that will contour the future of the cinema.
PARTNERS:
CLOUD NINETEEN
For 15 years, Cloud 19 has been a 1-stop resource for post production & mastering services, providing digital media solutions to Hollywood studios, Indie distributors and film producers everywhere! Consider us for your QC reports, Hardware-based DCP’s, DVD & Blu-ray Authoring, Color Grading and other Finishing services.
FILMSTRO
Filmstro Pro is a music publishing library built in to a desktop app that enables Filmmakers to adapt and recompose professional soundtracks to suit their films. Available for Windows and Mac users.
DCP2GO
DCP2GO offers complete professional services for DCP authoring including: preparation of materials, authoring, encryption and key management, duplication, control and check-up (test screening), transfer and distribution, translation and subtitling, and technical organization.
iPitch TV
Looking for a way to pitch your idea for a television show or movie?
iPITCH.TV offers a next generation platform for creators of original pitches for TV, Film & Digital Media to connect directly with Hollywood Producers and Studio Executives and gives creators industry pro advice on how to pitch a television show or feature film. Pitch your idea for a Movie, Screenplay, Television Show, Short Film, New Media Project and more.
Film in Focus | International Film Festival opens its doors to film professionals, art cinema lovers and debut artists alike who want to showcase themselves in the industry along with their unique and individual ideas.
We strive to curate an inclusive film line-up. A space where experienced professionals and first time filmmakers can share their artistic ideas and perhaps learn something from one another.
Film in Focus IFF, as an international festival has the objective of creating awareness on screening independent cinema. We welcome submissions from a wide range of genres including drama & comedy films, documentaries, animations, experimental projects, music videos or movie trailers.
FIF is run in association with Global Cinema Hub, a collection of international film festivals supporting indie filmmaking. By establishing a working network with filmmakers, producers and marketing professionals, we share one common goal: to forge productive and lasting relationships between independent filmmakers and audiences.
We are now open for submissions for our 2021 film showcase.
Film screenings along with the unique stories will take place right in the heart of Bucharest, at the Unteatru Theatre. Being one of the most effervescent art hubs of the capital city, Unteatru is the place where the creatives meet the audience through art exhibitions, theatre shows, film screenings and thematic workshops.
"Ciak Film Festival" is a cinema and entertainment event dedicated to Feature Films, Short Films - Italian and foreign.
The 2024 edition will have special prizes dedicated to music video clips, documentaries, feature films, short film shot in Lazio.
The Artistic Direction is curated by Stefano Madonna and Alfonso Chiarenza.
The Festival will be held in Fiuggi (FR) 11-12 September 2021 and will see the participation of well-known celebrities.
Prizes will be dedicated to the best feature films, short films and their artistic and technical figures.
There will be special prizes for famous faces and new faces of the show.
https://www.facebook.com/ciakfilmfestival
NEW - Check out Festival Teaser at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFmtGzNYuPM
Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest is monthly film competition focusing on international independent cinema. Our aim is to support new filmmakers and to promote the research and development of new means of expressivity through cinematography as art among diverse audiences.
BSCF is located in the Eastern Heart of Europe, Bucharest being one of the most beautiful and diverse cities in the world.
The film competition runs on a monthly basis. The final deadline for our next selection, as well as the notification date are posted in the right-grid competition timeline.
❗All Films accepted in the Official Selection will be given a benefits pack worth 350$:
✶ iPitchTV 3 months studio licence worth 117$
✶ Filmstro 1-Year Pro Licence Exclusive discount worth up to 125$
✶ DCP2GO Exclusive Discount for mastering services worth 125$
???????????????? ???????????????????? ????????????????
✶ FREE Trophy + Screening + Certificate Award
✶ 5 FESTIVAL ENTRIES worth 115$
✶ WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION PACK from FILMHUB
✶ 90% DISCOUNT on DCP Mastering Services worth 300$ from KINOLIFE Distribution
✶ Filmstro Pro Licence discount worth 105$
✶ 1yr iPitchTV Studio Membership worth $299
All winners will receive online certificate awards and laurels will be offered to all participants who made it to the Official Selection.
Only films selected in the Competition will be showcased in the BscFest Official Screenings.
BSCF will be an outstanding event, where the audience can see new films, participate in workshops and meet filmmakers.
We guarantee that a jury of film professionals will view all submitted films. We encourage filmmakers who created their films with a low budget to enter their film to BSCF. The judgement criteria of the submitted films are new ideas, experimental cinematography, talented work of actors and an independent point of view.