the second day of the festival has been manically action-packed, with events happening all over the bfi southbank. tourists and vistitors initially unaware that onedotzero is going on find themselves surrounded with exciting things to see and do. near to the atrium of the bfi, visitors can make their mark with our electronic graffiti system using graffonic: virtual spraypaint, an interactive work of art which uses video tracking and a laser pointer to generate creative images. in the main foyer we have our So touch multi-users application running on a Mindstorm multi-touch table, a touchable, enjoyable, search-able table of information about the festival, full of data to explore, screening times to browse and trailers to watch. these installations will be going on throughout the duration of the festival, along with the main talking point on the southbank this week, our enormous onedotzero identity, screaming messages in lights across the outside walls of the national theatre. also sitting in the foyer are a handful of young dancers who bemuse the crowds of cinema-goers by casually spinning on their heads every so often, practicing, no doubt, for some exciting event to follow later on…

highlights of today’s program included two fascinating short film programs: new british talent 09 and partizan: the next generation. the former showcased new and exciting short films from around the country, with mind-blowing shorts that act as a testament to the amount of young talent bursting out of the uk film industry. the second shorts program explores one specific production company – partizan – and the huge amount of creativity evident from their short films, music videos, adverts and the young film-makers behind them.

the evening sees two exciting panel discussions, both exploring the way the world of media is changing around us. it’s good to be open was a free panel discussion about the distribution and development of software through the collaborative approach of open source, led by speakers from nokia, tinker.it! and joel gethin lewis. animation projects: ignition heralds the launch of engine, a new online space for  moving image practices and different media to be discussed. the event included a short screening and a discussion with chris o’reilly (nexus), quayola, tal rosner and gaelle denis.

finally, to round off the evening we have the second feature film of the festival, a special preview of turn it loose, directed by alastair siddons. this electrifying documentary focuses on the world of breakdancing and the one-on-one dance offs that 6 competitors go through to declare themselves world champions. the film is followed by a q+a with the director and a free bar event, turn it looser, when the foyer becomes host to the breakdancers themselves to proove that the talent seen in the film is far more than on-screen special effects.