Short film fanatic Mike Plante has launched a brand new project promoting the work of some of his favorite filmmakers. It’s the Cinemad Mix Tape! The first edition of which was launched recently featuring eight short films that are available for purchase or rental right now. The lineup of films on the Mix Tape is below and includes work from Cam Archer, Tom Barndt, Kelly Sears, Lilli Carre and more.

Plante is on a one-man mission to bring short films to the masses and to make sure this unique cinematic artform finally gets the respect it deserves. Previously, Plante has helped short filmmakers out by buying them a hot meal for his legendary Lunchfilm series; then, last year he put out the amazing Cinemad: Almanac 2009 DVD.

The first edition of the Cinemad Mix Tape is available via Amazon’s Video-on-Demand program. You can either rent the films for a week or buy them for permanent viewing. Or, if you don’t feel like going through Amazon and want to support Plante and the filmmakers directly, you can order a DVD from the Cinemad Film Club.

At the very least, I recommend hightailing it over to Amazon’s site and watch the free two-minute preview of Cam Archer‘s grainy and haunting light dark.

Here’s the full list of films appearing on Cinemad Mix Tape #1:

light dark, dir. Cam Archer
Redemptitude, dir. The Zellner Brothers
How She Slept at Night, dir. Lilli Carre
Winners (On Parade), dir. Chris Peters
Hillbilly Robot, dir. Todd Rohal
The Mark, dir. Tom Barndt
The Drift, dir. Kelly Sears
The Rambler, dir. Calvin Lee Reeder