The GSM Association (GSMA) on Wednesday announced a partnership with the independent filmmakers group, Sundance Institute, to put short films on mobile devices.

Sundance Institute – founded by Robert Redford – has been working for and with independent filmmakers for over 25 years and have set up a dedicated unit, Sundance Film Festival: Global Short Film Project with the GSMA to showcase how movies can work on mobile phones.

In a joint statement the pair said they “have commissioned six independent filmmakers to create five short films, crafted exclusively for mobile distribution”. All of the filmmakers participating in the project have screened films at the annual Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance Institute president, Robert Redford said: “Cell phones are fast becoming the ‘fourth screen’ medium, after television, cinema and computers. We feel this experiment embodies fully, our quarter-century dedication to exploring new platforms to support wider distribution of independent voices in filmmaking.”

While cell phones have previously been used to deliver film and entertainment content, the Sundance pilot is believed to be the first to commission high calibre independent filmmakers to create original stories specifically for mobile. The project presents creative challenges to the filmmakers who will be working with a limited budget, time and resources to make a 3-5 minute film for a small mobile screen.

“The Global Short Film Project takes us into the realms of a uniquely intimate new medium, one which holds tremendous promise for maximising the impact and international reach of the short film genre, and in doing so serving the artists,” said John Cooper, director of programming for the Sundance Film Festival and creative director for Sundance Institute, who will oversee the project.