OREANDA-NEWS. September 21, 2012. The short film created by i-Free, The Possibilities of NFC in the Modern World, won a prize in the corporate film section of the Cannes Film Festival: Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.

Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards is a high-profile corporate film festival – the biggest event of its kind in Europe. This year, it featured over 600 films from 35 countries.  

i-Free brought a nine-minute film to the festival about what the NFC technology can do, and about the company’s own NFC products and services, some of which are already used in Russia. i-Free’s film ended up among the prizewinners in the Streaming/Web-Only Films/Web-TV/Webcasts category.

“We are glad that the festival’s jury thought so highly of our work,” said i-Free CEO Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. “We hope this film gives an impetus to the NFC sector in Russia. Unlike the usual corporate videos, our film is educational, and it has a plot. We believe many viewers will find it interesting, even people who have absolutely nothing to do with the high-tech industry. They will see how NFC changes the everyday life, and what opportunities NFC-based services promise for millions of regular people.”

What makes this short film different is its scripted plot: the main character is shown today, when the NFC technology is in its infancy, and 20 years later. He tries to define the meaning of innovation and the future, and he deliberates on how ideas emerge that change this world out of recognition.

The screenplay writer and director of the film is Ivan Sokolov. Camera and photography by Maksim Efros.

It is not unusual for i-Free to popularize the NFC technology. Indeed, the company was among the pioneers of NFC research in the CIS and Eastern Europe. i-Free has by now successfully implemented quite a number of pilot and commercial projects employing NFC. 

In 2010, i-Free was the first Russian company invited to join the NFC Forum, the international organization spearheading NFC development worldwide. In 2011, i-Free opened a showroom at its offices in St. Petersburg, showcasing numerous NFC solutions for different applications in daily life and in business: transportation, healthcare, education, commerce, conventions, and other fields.  

NFC projects at i-Free are handled by a dedicated division: i-Free Innovations, which boasts a unique team of experts and IT professionals. The competencies of i-Free Innovations cover the design and implementation of NFC package projects and customized solutions, NFC advisory services, and development of various products and services using NFC.