When it comes to internet brands, it’s usually a case of the good guys versus the bad guys, like The Guardian (free) vs. The Times (pay-wall), or Boomkat (music specialist) vs. Juno (music wholesaler). In the video category, we’d choose Vimeo over YouTube any day of the week, not only for the superior streaming quality but for the obscure foreign documentaries and long-forgotten B-movies you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

So it’s exciting to hear that, in a brand awareness exercise, Vimeo are holding the 2010 Vimeo Awards to shine a light on creative online content. On 8-9 October in New York, there’ll be screenings of the 45 finalists for the awards, whittled down from some 6,500 entries. The judging panel consists of familiar names like M.I.A., Morgan Spurlock and David Lynch who will be deciding which of the finalists walk off with the loot. Broken down into categories including Narrative, Documentary, Experimental, Music Video etc. the quality on the shortlist aint too bad. We especially enjoyed Schlimazeltov!, a beautifully-shot documentary about the London Jewish community, as well as Thrush, an innovative short film, composed mainly of digital photos, about a love affair that was doomed from the start.

Schlimazeltov! from THE LIGHT SURGEONS on Vimeo.

Thrush from Gabriel Bisset-Smith on Vimeo.