EA UK Announces Sims Shorts to offer Machinima Outlet in 58 cinemas

The winner of a new Machinima competion - The Sims Shorts - will have their 2 ½ minute film shown throughout December in 58 Vue cinema screens across the UK alongside some of the big Christmas  blockbusters. The winner will also get a cash prize of £1000 and have their short available for download on www.simsshorts.com.

Electronic Arts have created The Sims Shorts competition which will encourage the public in the UK to embrace a growing online phenomenon and the latest revolution in independent filmmaking; machinima, a new genre which combines filmmaking, animation and game development and allows users to shoot a film using their PC.  

Launching this year in the UK with Vue Cinemas, The Sims Shorts will invite players to create a 2 ½ minute short film using The Sims game as their platform.  Put yourself in the director's chair and use your PC as your camera, the other players as your actors and your friends as the scriptwriters. With an easy to use drag and drop option, even the most technically innocent can create their very own blockbuster and the opportunity to see it on the big screen. 

The search for The Sims Shorts winner has begun with a call to action by leading UK comedic talent, Mathew Horne and Ben Willbond who will be premiering their first machinima film, When Romantic Things Happen for No Apparent Reason and Everyone is Happy at the End.

  EA have partnered with Vue cinemas to bring When Romantic Things Happen for No Apparent Reason and Everyone is Happy at the End to screens across the country throughout November and December. The film will also be available for download at www.simsshorts.com and www.roosterteeth.com, one of the most influential and highly visited machinima sites online.  The Sims Shorts will be judged by a panel inclduing Perrier Award winning comedian Ben Willbond and the winner of The Sims Shorts will have their 2 ½ minute film shown throughout December in 58 Vue cinema's across the country alongside some of the biggest Christmas cinema blockbusters. The winner will also win a cash prize of £1000 and will have their Short available for download on www.simsshorts.com.