Source: Times Online 26.2.09
Eighteen months ago Vito Rocco was riding a mobility scooter through suburban Sheffield while explaining to camera why he dreamt of making a film about weekend battle re-enactors.
It was not an obviously commercial pitch and everyone with money in the British film world had already turned him down, but crucially the three-minute video struck a chord with thousands of film fans on the social networking site MySpace.
In a groundbreaking £1 million deal they picked Mr Rocco before 800 other aspiring directors to make the world’s first user-generated feature film.
Tomorrow, Mr Rocco’s dream will become reality when Faintheart is released in 50 cinemas around Britain. In keeping with every other aspect of the film’s creation, this will be a cinema release unlike any other: the venues were chosen by MySpace users, the film will screen for one day only and it will be free, effectively an elaborate advert for the DVD released on February 2nd.