Amazon's partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival breaks ground in a number of ways. First all films that are uploaded will be entered, and Amazon members can vote on as many films as they care to review. It's like turning Amazon members into voting members of the TV Academy. Ok, maybe it's the people's choice awards - but the concept is very cool. Secondly - there will be two elimination days during the voting, so low scoring films will be dropped out of rotation - improving the experience for Amazon visitors. And thirdly - there is a $50,000 prize for the grand prize winner - chosen by Amazon members.

To enter - go HERE

Then there's the macromedia connection. Each and every film uploaded must be encoded in flash video format. So it's anyone's guess how many people will experiment with Flash Video - but let's guess thousands, maybe tens of thousands. Oh, you don't have an encoder? No prob, Sorenson has a special demo edition that will expire the day after entries for the contest close.

So Amazon gets content. Amazon members get a special vote. Macromedia gets new sampling customers. Tribeca gets shorts, PR, and a filmmaker prize.

It will be really interesting to see how this audience moderated festival works, and if the quality is good enough to make the first pass review an interesting experience.