Filmaster at SXSW!!! (despite the US Visa fail)
I’ve got some amazing news! Filmaster, the startup I founded and I spent the last half year of my life for, will be on stage at South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the most interesting IT conferences this year! We’ve been selected to pitch our application in the AppCircus contest where world’s best new mobile apps will be presented.
Filmaster is a movie check-in and recommendation service that connects film buffs both locally and around the globe. Every day it provides you with top movie suggestions in your area that fit your personal taste thanks to the powerful social recommendation engine.
The SXSW invitation is extremely timely as we’ve just finished working on our iPhone app which we’ve submitted to AppStore this week. We planned to soft launch it but it looks like the launch will be rather loud. Nothing bad about it (unless some nast but ruins everything)!
The VISA story (“funeral mode”)
I got the news from Claudio Cossio from dotOpen last Thursday and same day I filled up the US VISA application (yes, I live in Poland, we still need visas to get to the land of free). I actually was informed by the nice lady in the embassy in Warsaw that my chances for getting a visa on time are almost zero. Frustrated I recorded this video to inform the world about the fact that Filmaster will be pitching but I won’t be there:
But the video is outdated, as it looks like I’ll eventually make it!!!
I brought all my documents to the embassy today and I got a confirmatiion from the council that they’re gonna do anything possible (that means: “funeral mode” apparently applied only in rare situations like deaths of close members of family) to get me the VISA by Friday. Which means I can catch the Saturday plane (and spend millions for it) and get to Austin (who knows where I’m gonna sleep as all the hotels are booked) before my Filmaster presentation!
Mobile apps contest @ SXSW
The takes place on Monday, March 14th between 2 and 4 PM in Circus Mashimus Tent, located in Room #3, on the first level near the popular Screenburn Arcade.
If you are coming to SXSW, you have to see the mobile competition! Here is the list of amazing apps (including Filmaster) and here is the jury which has a guy from Foursquare, Angry Birds and the co-founder of Jaiku. Check in with Plancast now so that you don’t forget it!
And if you want to keep track with my ventures, follow me on Twitter and sign up for Filmaster Mobile with a beta code “SXSW” to get a cool Filmaster t-shirt.
See you in Austin!
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