Digital Domain Holdings Limited Expanding in Europe

Digital Domain Holdings Limited Joins Mastercard OFF CAMERA – International Festival of Independent Cinema and Main Sponsor Mastercard in Screening Films from the World's Top Up-and-Coming Indie Filmmakers

HONG KONG, April 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Digital Domain Holdings Limited (DDHL), a Hong Kong listed visual effects and virtual human technology company, announces that it will serve as a show sponsor for the 16th annual Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema. Created to help highlight some of the best local independent films and filmmakers and from around the world, the festival will be held in Krakow, Poland, on April 28 – May 7. 

The Mastercard OFF CAMERA Festival will screen nearly 400 films over ten days, featuring several jury events headlined by the "Making Way" main dramatic competition. An international jury will review a selection of 10 films from some of the top indie filmmakers in the world, and the winner will receive the prestigious Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award. A second competition will highlight and honor the best films from Poland over the last year. American Indies – dedicated to daring, uncompromising and fascinating American cinema and Best of Fests – showcasing interesting productions awarded at international film festivals, that the Polish audience will have an opportunity to see on the silver screen, often for the first time.

"The global landscape has vibrant visual effects and games production industry with several universities producing a steady flow of well-qualified talent," said Szymon Miszczak, Mastercard OFF CAMERA Director. "We are delighted to welcome Digital Domain, a major global player in the visual effects space, to have access to a highly professional and competitive labor pool in the European region."

DDHL notably consists of Oscar-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain, one of the world's premier pre and post-production work providers, making the sponsorship with the Mastercard OFF CAMERA a Festival a natural fit. The VFX studio's recent work includes projects created for an international audience, including the upcoming Warner Bros. blockbuster Blue Beetle, Marvel Studios' episodic series Secret Invasion, Amazon Prime Video's Citadel, and more. 

Along with offices in the United States, Canada, China, and India, DDHL continues to expand its presence in Europe following the creation of its fully-owned subsidiary, Digital Domain Capital Partners, in Luxembourg. DDHL has also made strategic investments in several European media and e-commerce companies, including securing minority ownership stakes in Highlight Event & Entertainment AG, the parent company of Germany's Constantin Film, one of Europe's most successful film production and distribution companies, and a frequent contributor to Polish cinema. The money for DDHL's Mastercard OFF CAMERA Festival sponsorship will be provided entirely by proceeds generated from its European operations and partnerships. 

"The European film industry has some of the best and most imaginative visual effects and gaming content creators in the world, and many of them are just waiting for an opportunity to show what they can do," said Daniel Seah, CEO of DDHL. "Our sponsorship in the Mastercard Off Camera Film Festival is both a commitment to expand our presence in Europe and a way for us to support some of the world's most talented up-and-coming storytellers and content creators."

About Digital Domain Holdings Limited

Digital Domain Holdings Limited ("Digital Domain") is the pioneer of creating transportive experiences. Throughout the last 30 years, Digital Domain has grown to lead the visual effects industry, expanding the arm of virtual humans and visualization globally. Digital Domain's rich legacy consists of hundreds of feature films and episodes, thousands of advertising, game cinematics, and immersive experimental experiences. A creative force in cutting-edge technologies, Digital Domain, has brought exceptional artistry to Academy Award-winning blockbusters of Titanic, What Dreams May Come, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Marvel Cinematic Universe titles crushed all-time worldwide box office, such as the Avengers franchise, and Stranger Things made a splash with Season IV.

As the first independent visual effects studio to successfully enter Greater China, Digital Domain has further paved the way towards virtual race since 2016. Leaning into artificial intelligence technologies and virtual reality allows Digital Domain to create photorealistic and emotionally expressive virtual humans, all in real-time, and provides an advanced medium for human-computer and human-human interactions in diverse virtual scenarios.

Digital Domain Holdings Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock code: 547). Digital Domain has ten locations, including Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hyderabad.

Digital Domain Official Website - WWW.DIGITALDOMAIN.COM

Mastercard OFF CAMERA – International Festival of Independent Cinema

The 16th edition of the Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema is upon us. Throughout the years, the Festival has undergone changes and continued to evolve. From the outset, however, it has always provided information and commentary on the present state of the world. Addressing important current topics, the Festival has dared to go against the grain. It thus became one of the most recognizable events of this type in Central Europe. 

Over the years, two competitions have remained the core of the Festival program: the Main Dramatic Competition "Making Way" and the Polish Feature Film Competition. The first of the two sections is a showcase of ten directing debuts and second films from all over the world competing for the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award of USD 25,000. In the Polish Feature Film Competition ten most interesting Polish titles have a chance to win the Dominika Kulczyk & dFlights Award of PLN 100,000. Other awards include those for Best Actress, Best Actor and Mastercard Rising Star for acting debut. The winners are selected by members of two juries comprised of outstanding international filmmakers and experts.