MUMBAI: Top creative minds from around the world will converge in Vancouver for VIDFEST 2007 to shape the future of the digital media industry and wax nostalgic about Ripley, Deckard and Dark Helmet.

Running from 22-25 September, VIDFEST 2007 kicks off the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), drawing global leaders from the digital media industry, including animation, games, web 2.0, mobile and interactive content and featuring Vancouver’s best and brightest digital media talent.

“The line-up for VIDFEST 2007 is shaping up to be our best ever. We’re thrilled to present industry veterans like Mark Verheiden from the Vancouver-produced cult favourite TV show Battlestar Galactica and John Walker from animation giant Pixar,” said VIDFEST creative director Kirstin Richter.

At VIDFEST 2007, the digerati will meet with their peers to share their work, develop new business and push the boundaries of creativity in digital media.  This year’s programme features creative exchange sessions, digital sci-fi film and web series screenings and an international partnering forum for business-to-business networking. Festival highlights include:

John Walker, producer of the Disney•Pixar film The Incredibles and associate producer of Warner Bros. Studios’ The Iron Giant, delivers a keynote address on creating good partnerships with filmmakers at the international partnering forum, an invite-only event to introduce and facilitate business matchmaking between international digital media companies.

Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer and writer of Battlestar Galactica partners with Paul Chadwick, creator of the comic book Concrete and designer of the online game Matrix, to deliver the closing keynote address: Reminiscing about the Future.

Pitch n’ Play, where indy video game developers can pitch their games to the video game community, play on the big screen and bid at the World of Warcraft-styled auction for great gaming finds.

Joshua Davis, festival favourite, world-renowned web designer, and winner of the 2001 Prix Arts Electronica Golden Nica prize, leads an intensive half-day Get Creative workshop on using Macromedia Flash MX and Action Script to build a program that does design work.

Jim Monroe, graphic novelist and filmmaker presents the Canadian premiere screening of Infest Wisely, a collaborative nano-punk sci-fi film.

VIDFEST programme, registration and ticket information available online at www.vidfest.com. Early bird tickets are available until 5 September, 2007.

Presented by New Media BC, the Vancouver International Digital Festival is Canada’s biggest annual digital content event, connecting international business leaders and top creative minds in the fields of animation, games, web 2.0, mobile and interactive content.