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Coca-Cola Filmmaker's Award Goes To FSU Student

3/18/2005

Matthew Pope, a native of Atlanta, GA and currently a film student at Florida State University's Conservatory of Motion Picture Arts, has been selected as the winner of the 2005 Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award for his short film "The Line Starts Here."

Pope will receive the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award at ShoWest in Las Vegas at the Final Night Banquet and Awards Ceremony on March 17, 2005. As the winner, Pope will receive $10,000 and his short film will be seen on more than 21,000 movie screens in the fall in theaters that pour Coca-Cola.

For the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award competition, entrants created short films based on the concept of "the movie-going experience." Ten finalists were selected Fall 2004, with each receiving a $7,500 grant to produce their film within 10 weeks.

Inspired by the long lines of fans for the re-release of the "Star Wars" movies, Pope's film, titled "The Line Starts Here," centers around a man who plans to "camp out" to be the first person in line for a new, highly-anticipated movie. He erects a tent on the sidewalk outside the theater, but due to a malfunctioning zipper, he is trapped inside the tent and even though he is first in line, he is unable to purchase tickets. Fortunately, a kind-hearted theater employee who notices his troubles, purchases tickets for him and they attend the movie together.

The panel chose Pope's film from nearly 200 concepts submitted by students representing twelve film schools in the U.S.

Pope is a native of Atlanta, GA, where he began making a series of weekly short films with his friends for high school groups. He graduated magna cum laude from Furman University in 1999 before founding Summerset Productions, an independent production company. Pope is currently attending Florida State University's Conservatory of Motion Picture Arts.

The Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award has been presented by The Coca-Cola Company each year since 1997. The 2005 Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award winner was selected by a 25-member panel of entertainment industry experts, called the Red Ribbon Panel.

CONTACT: Susan McDermott of The Coca-Cola Company, +1-404-610-2551,smcdermott@na.ko.com; or Heather Krug of Rogers and Cowan, +1-310-854-8156,hkrug@rogersandcowan.com, for The Coca-Cola Company

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