Due to its success last summer, The DVD Festival will once again be a prominent feature at the upcoming VSDA Convention in Las Vegas. The convention takes place January 7-9 at the Sands Expo Center/Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and is a nexus of people and products representing many aspects of the home entertainment industry. Some of the highlights of the festival include a DVD Awards cocktail party on Sunday, January 7, and a DVD SuperSession which takes place on Monday, January 8.

The 2nd Annual DVD Festival Awards will recognize DVD labels and producers for excellence in content and production techniques unique to the digital-disk format. The 2001 DVD Festival Award categories include:

Best DVD Commentary; Best Use of Menu Features; Best Supplementary Material Presentation; Best Use of Audio/Language Tracks; Best Overall Use Of DVD-ROM Features; Best Video Transfer; Best Audio Presentation; Best Music DVD—Non-Theatrical (New Category); Best Music DVD—Theatrical; Best of Show—Non-Theatrical; Best of Show—Theatrical; Best of Show Adult (New Category); Best Children’s DVD.

Titles released on DVDs in the U.S. market from January 1, 2000 to November 30, 2000 will be eligible, with each DVD label allowed to submit no more than one title per award category.

The DVD Awards will be determined by a blue-ribbon jury of recognized experts in the entertainment media, which include: Daily Variety, Dallas Morning News, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, The New Movie Show, Video Business Magazine, Video Store Magazine, and once again, we are proud to report, our intrepid editor, Guido Henkel, representing DVD Review.

This is an exciting event, and you can be sure that we’ll have a full report for you straight from the horse’s mouth (uh…sorry, Guido, you know what I mean) after the Festival. Say tuned…