Intel Awards Sundance Digital 'Indie' Film Prizes

Move over, Apple. The latest technology company to connect with Hollywood is Intel, via the Intel Indies Film Contest.

The contest, a competition among short digital films of four minutes or less, culminated in a screening this week at the Sundance Film Festival, now ongoing in Park City, Utah.

A grand prize of $25,000 in cash and $20,000 in Intel ViiV digital home-entertainment equipment went to "The Wand," a short by Nicholas Worthey, described as a whimsical animation in which a man rules the world with an alien magic wand.

Two $10,000 first prizes were also awarded. One went to "Lord of the Mop," by Alan Poon, about a janitor who picks up a conductor's wand in a music room and finds that it has magical powers. The other first prize went to "Edit Love," by Kiyong Kim, described as a geeky romantic comedy in which a would-be-boyfriend re-edits his pickup lines on the fly.

Streaming video versions of the winners are posted here.

Intel provided prizes and helped judge the films. Other judges included Gremlins director Joe Dante and producer Christopher Coppola. The contest was run by Atom Entertainment, a distributor of games, short films, and animations on the Web.