TORONTO — Calling it the next big thing in cinema, a Toronto group is challenging scriptwriters and directors to make bite-sized movies for thumb-sized screens.

Organizers of Mobifest, billed as Canada's first mobile film festival, are looking for the best films designed to be viewed on cellphone screens and under 60 seconds in length.

"Today we're at the beginning (of the genre) but there's a great opportunity for independent filmmakers to build a direct relationship with their audience," said Duncan Kennedy, one of the producers of the event.

Entries will be accepted until April 30 from professional and amateur filmmakers over age 16.

Winners in various categories will be announced May 17 at the festival in Toronto. They'll be selected by online voting after a panel of judges produces a shortlist.

Prizes include camera equipment worth $1,500 and screenings of the winning films on Air Canada flights.

Organizers say they're expecting hundreds of entries, given the popularity of the genre. Mobile movies are already the rage in Asia and Europe where the industry has been dubbed Cellywood. Some companies are already offering downloads to mobile devices for about $1 a film.

Kennedy, whose Toronto-based NowNow Corp. commissions and distributes the micro-movies, says films made for tiny screens require a slightly different skill-set than traditional pictures.

"It's short attention-span theatre," he said. "Mobile users are constantly being interrupted, so you have to catch their attention immediately. Many of the places where people are watching mobile movies are pretty loud."

Kennedy said judges will be looking for innovation and originality. Owing to the short length, most mobile movies focus on humour. He's already received one animated submission called Brokeback Chicken, and says several prominent Canadian directors have expressed interest in entering the competition.

The festival is the latest sign that the mini-films are starting to catch on in North America. Last month's Sundance Film Festival offered a workshop on the genre. The films also popped up at last fall's Toronto International Film Festival, with directors Don McKellar, Sook-Yin Lee and Mark McKinney among those who showed off features made for tiny screens. The Canadian Film Centre's Worldwide Short Film Festival has offered workshops on mobile movies for the past two years.

"Canada is a world leader in short-film development, boasting a pool of directorial talent that runs quite deep," said Romen Podzyhun, who heads digital channel Movieola which airs short films. "We are in the midst of a cultural phenomenon where creative bursts are colliding with everyday technology."

A complete list of guidelines and categories is at www.mobifest.ca.