Director Spike Lee along with a panel of professionals will judge entries to the first ever Babelgum Online Film Festival.

Over a thousand entries have been made from filmmakers in 86 countries. Users will be able to vote on films — some of which were created specifically for the festival — available for download through Babelgum, an new interactive Web TV portal. Highest vote-getters will make up a short list that will then be judged by Lee and company. According to Lee:

“With the Babelgum Online Film Festival, filmmaking officially enters the Web 2.0 era. The standard of the entries we’ve received thus far has been outstanding. It just goes to show there is a wealth of talent out there that wouldn’t usually get recognition or exposure if it wasn’t for festivals such as this. It really does represent a new era in film-making and puts the filmmaker in more control of getting their productions seen.”

Winners will be awarded 20,000 Euros each (that’s like a BILLION dollars US) at a ceremony at this year’s Cannes Film Festival on May 20th. Check out a sampling of the films here.

I can’t stop reading Encyclopedia Dramatica. So many lulz, so little time. It’s like a Buddyhead for Web 2.0, and since those dudes fell off anyway, ED is now the official winnar of the internet.