Gray and White

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that it is an official sponsor of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 19-29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. As part of its sponsorship, Adobe will host two Sundance panels, offering festival attendees the chance to engage with filmmakers and industry leaders. In addition, Adobe is a sponsor for the NEXT category of the film festival, which highlights films showcased for innovation and originality in low-budget and no-budget filmmaking.

“We are excited to be a part of the Sundance Film Festival this year and to celebrate the next generation of filmmakers,” said Ann Lewnes, senior vice president of Global Marketing, Adobe. “Sundance has always stood for breakthrough filmmaking and inspires Adobe to push the envelope in our filmmaking tools.”

The two Adobe-hosted panels feature industry leaders in visual effects and digital filmmaking, including: Oscar-winner Rob Legato, visual effects supervisor for HUGO, Avatar and Apollo 13; Sharlto Copley, lead in Oscar-nominated District 9; Vincent Laforet, director and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer; and Jacob Rosenberg, filmmaker, author and digital media expert for Bandito Brothers, a Los Angeles-based media company.

Sundance Film Festival attendees are invited to join both Adobe-hosted panels at the Microcinema at New Frontier at the times listed below:

• Friday, January 20, 2:30-3:30 p.m. – “Adobe Presents: How technology is influencing storytelling and film” moderated by Sharlto Copley, with panelists: Rob Legato, Vincent Laforet, and Jacob Rosenberg


• Wednesday, January 25, 2:30-3:30 p.m. – “Adobe presents: Modern storytelling, a case study by Vincent Laforet” featuring Vincent Laforet

The NEXT film category at Sundance consists of nine films being recognized for innovation and creativity in digital filmmaking on low-or-no budgets. Films in this category tell life stories of people from all walks of life including a young, talented singer/songwriter in “I’m not a Hipster’, a 10-year old girl left to her own devices by an absent father in “KidThing”, and a nurse who tries to find next of kin for a recently deceased patient in “Pursuit of Loneliness.”