AND THE WINNER IS: COW...IN SUNGLASSES
Popular Internet Film Wins Big at Austin 's South by Southwest Festival
[Austin , TX] – The internet's most popular animated advocacy film, The Meatrix (www.TheMeatrix.com), took home Best Animated Short (Classic) Sunday at the popular Austin-based interactive film and music festival South by Southwest (SXSW). The humorous flash animation spoof featuring a trench coat-clad cow named Moopheus has been wowing viewers for over a year with its innovative pop culture approach to educating the public about factory farming. Since its debut in late 2003, well over 6 million people have viewed The Meatrix and discovered the ugly truth about how livestock are raised on factory farms.
Festival-goers can still catch the winning film during a screening of animated shorts at the Alamo Downtown (409 Colorado Street) on Wednesday March 16 th at 11am. The film will also be shown during the SXSW Music Festival at the Indie 911 Showcase at Momo's ( 618 West 6th Street above Katz's) on Friday March 18 th at 12 noon.
"The Meatrix has touched a chord with audiences worldwide," noted GRACE Marketing Director Diane Hatz , an executive producer of the film. "Many people tell us they changed their eating habits after seeing this film. This is partly because we offer people healthier options through the Eat Well Guide (www.EatWellGuide.org), an online directory of sustainably -raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs."
Special "pooping cow" key chains, designed as promotions for the film, have been especially popular in Austin . "We've run out," said Hatz. "Everyone wants a pooping cow. But these key chains remind us that not everyone wants 5,000 of them crammed into a mega-dairy next door."
Over the past year, The Meatrix has enjoyed tremendous success on the independent film festival circuit, picking up numerous awards and many accolades. In November 2004, the film won Best Documentary Short at the Fourteenth Annual Environmental Media Association Awards ( EMAs ) in Los Angeles. Other awards have been received from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, The Glynwood Foundation, and Media Rights' Media That Matters Film Festival.
The Meatrix is also poised to take the international scene by storm. Scripts have already been translated into more than a dozen languages, and French, German and Portuguese versions will be available in Spring 2005 to coincide with the official European release of the film.
"I'm not surprised that this film is a hit in Austin," said Hatz. "The humor of The Meatrix crosses age, gender and class boundaries. I mean, who can resist a cow in sunglasses?"
GRACE is a nonprofit organization that works with research, policy and grassroots communities to raise awareness and promote solutions to preserve the planet for future generations. Visit us at www.gracelinks.org
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