Contact: Wesley Strackbein, 210-340-5250, ext. 222, wesley@visionforum.com

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Jan. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Fifth Annual San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), which begins today in the Alamo City, is breaking new ground for independent filmmakers by facilitating contracts for the semi-finalists and finalists to sell their films via download. The opportunity comes through a strategic partnership between the SAICFF and Behemoth.com, a sponsor of the SAICFF which has agreed to actively distribute independent Christian films accepted as SAICFF semi-finalists through the sponsor's online download platform.

"For years, independent Christian filmmakers have struggled to find financially viable distribution streams for their films," noted Doug Phillips, founder of the SAICFF. "We are pleased to announce that an important step has been taken to meet this challenge through Behemoth.com's download store."

Behemoth.com is a large-scale, cost-effective download venue for customers of all ages, featuring trustworthy, downloadable audio and video content for the Christian family. Twenty-two of the fifty films competing in the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival are available starting today for purchase on Behemoth.com.

"Those filmmakers who have chosen to pursue a relationship with Behemoth.com have their films available for sale as the festival gets underway today. Regardless of whether or not these filmmakers win a festival prize this weekend, they will be granted the opportunity to receive an immediate reward from their investment," Phillips explained. "If a festival attendee views a film and likes it, they can log onto Behemoth.com and download their film -- right then, right there."

"This is another important way that independent filmmakers can begin to realize a return on their labors," Phillips concluded. "It is a process that we are pleased to facilitate -- to reward those hard-working independent Christian filmmakers who have produced a quality product that the SAICFF has recognized."

The San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF) will be held January 8-10 at the Gonzalez Convention in downtown San Antonio. The SAICFF is host to the largest single film festival grand prize of its kind in America -- the $101,000 Best of Festival Jubilee Award -- and will be screening 50 film finalist and semi-finalists over the three-day event. Special guests at this year's festival will include Fireproof's producer Stephen Kendrick as well as actors, Kirk Cameron and Dean Jones.

To interview Doug Phillips about his vision for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, contact Wesley Strackbein by e-mail at wesley@visionforum.com or by phone at (210) 340-5250, ext. 222.