Forget short films. South African film-maker Aryan Kaganof has made a full-length flick using just a pair of Sony Ericsson W900i phones. It's called SMS Sugar Man, and is due out in May, when it'll be distributed in cinemas, but also on DVD, over the internet and, yes, on mobile phones.
The distribution is the interesting thing for me here. It's unclear how involved Sony Ericsson was with the project – a trailer for SMS Sugar Man will be preloaded on the W900i when it actually goes on sale in South Africa, which implies they had a hand in it.
But usually, when people talk about mobile user-generated content, it's in the context of other people viewing it on mobiles only. The thought of mobile video being good enough to be shown on bigger screens has bags of potential.
However, I'm guessing the emphasis will still be on professional film-makers who know their way round an editing suite to knock mobile footage into shape. And it remains to be seen how many will voluntarily shoot on mobile phones if a handset manufacturer isn't putting up the funding.
(via MobileActive)