INDIE ‘MOO-SIC ’ JOINS COW IN FIGHT AGAINST FACTORY FARMS
Independent Music Network to Promote The Meatrix at Austin's SXSW Festival
[Austin , TX] – The Meatrix (www.TheMeatrix.com), the popular flash-animation spoof about the horrors of factory farming, will be showcased by Indie911 at its official party at this year's South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Now in its 18 th year, the SXSW festival is a non-stop whirlwind of cinema, live music, parties and panels bringing together the best independent film and music in the country. At this year's festival, Indie911(www.indie911.com), a network providing online tools and management resources for independent artists, will be hosting a premier event with live performances by some of the country's hottest independent performers. The company plans to distribute encoded recordings of this year's performances for distribution on peer-to-peer music sharing networks. Revenues from digital download sales will help The Meatrix in its fight to eliminate factory farming.
The Indie911 party – “Indie Music Never Looked This Fine” – will be held Friday, March 18 th from noon to 5pm at Momo's (618 West 6 th Street, above Katz's) and will feature live performances by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Shiny Toy Guns, Samantha Stollenwerck, Amanda Ghost, and Marla Sokoloff.
“By hosting independent film, music and interactive media festivals all at the same time, South by Southwest is at the forefront of a cultural movement to fuse different creative mediums into one unified voice,” said Diane Hatz, an executive producer of The Meatrix. “Indie911's party is the perfect example of how the festival is helping to create relationships between various media to both entertain and educate people about important social issues.”
For over a year, The Meatrix has been wowing viewers with its innovative pop culture approach to educating the public about the ills of factory farming. Since its debut in late 2003, well over 6 million people have viewed the film which features a trenchcoat-clad cow named “Moopheus” who uncovers the ugly truth about how livestock are raised on factory farms.
The Meatrix has been aired twice at SXSW, and on Sunday, it took home the award for Best Animated Short in the classic category. In November 2004, the animated short won Best Documentary Short at the Fourteenth Annual Environmental Media Association Awards (EMAs) in Los Angeles. It also has received awards from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, The Glynwood Foundation, and Media Rights' Media That Matters Film Festival.
“Everybody eats. So everybody is affected by the unhealthy food production system dominating this country,” said Hatz. “Pop culture, whether movies, music or the internet, can be a powerful way to get the message out to consumers that their everyday choices can make a big difference in helping to safeguard the planet.”
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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