(San Francisco) Independent Lens, "The film festival in your living room" now brings you "a film festival at your fingertips." ITVS and PBS announced today that they will be extending their submission deadline for the first-ever Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival, where independent filmmakers are invited to submit short-form films, 10 minutes or less in length and in all genres. The new submission deadline is April 21, 2006.

All submitted shorts to the Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival will be screened and reviewed be an esteemed jury of leading independent filmmakers, interactive producers and industry executives. The grand prize-winning short film will be awarded $2,500 and consideration for a national television premiere on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. It was also announced today that ten additional winners will receive $1,000 each and be showcased on the Independent Lens Web site at PBS.org. Winners will be announced in Fall 2006.

FAQ, terms & conditions and application for the Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival are available at http://www.itvs.org/producers/shorts.html

About Independent Lens
A film festival in your living room, Independent Lens is an Emmy Award-winning weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. Hosted by Edie Falco, the acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of independent producers, which has prompted Television Week to call it "entertaining as hell and better than any other documentary series around."

Presented by Independent Television Service (ITVS), the series is supported by interactive companion Web sites and community engagement campaigns. Further information about the series is available at pbs.org/independentlens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About PBS
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

About ITVS
Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since ITVS's inception in 1991, its programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing television audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. More information about ITVS can be obtained by visiting ITVS.org. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people.