FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE NATIONAL COMPETITION SEEKS 30-TO-60 SECOND ENTRIES Friday, March 10, 2006 (14:07:10) Posted by All American residents 18 to 26 eligible Deadline: May 1, 2006 We welcome your participation and collaboration in FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE, an unprecedented "issue film"competition open to all American residents 18 to 26 , with major media and academic partners. The deadline is May 1, 2006. There is no entrance fee. Click READ MORE for details Students are invited to create a 30-to-60 second film -- live action or animated -- as a way of engaging them in current issues, empowering them to add their voices to the public dialogue, via film. It's ultimately an exercise in democracy and being an engaged, informed citizen. Participating entities include Microsoft / MSN Spaces / MSN Video / MSNBC.com, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly , MTV, The United Nations, The Humane Society of the United States, ASCAP, The Maui Film Festival, The Vail Film Festival , the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the American Association of University Professors, Campus Compact and Imagining America. Winners and faculty will receive: Six filmmakers -- the top-voted entry in each of the six categories -- will be flown to New York City for an Awards Ceremony / Reception at United Nations Headquarters, co-hosted by USA Today and MSN SPACES in June 2006. Six faculty advisors of the winning finalists, (in cases where faculty oversaw the creation of the film), will be flown to New York City for an Awards Ceremony / Reception at United Nations Headquarters, co-hosted by USA Today and MSN SPACES in June 2006. Six filmmakers -- the top-voted entry in each of the six categories -- will be flown to Park City, Utah during film festival season in January 2007 where their films will presented at a private reception by MSN Spaces. Faculty are invited to attend. The top-voted entries will be broadcast on mtvU, MSN Video, MSNBC.com and showcased at the Maui Film Festival. Top finalists in the music category will be presented by ASCAP at an industry showcase. The six winners will receive a Motorola RAZR V3 mobile phone and Toshiba Qosmio laptop The Vail Film Festival will offer a first-look of entries Results will be achieved by a combination of public voting and VIP Jury, which includes George Clooney, Walter Cronkite, Senator Barack Obama, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Anderson Cooper, Brian Williams and others. The six categories are: Open issue; Animal Welfare; Arts as Global Bridge; Anti-Poverty U.N. Millennium Development Goals; Music-Driven; and Integration of Film and Internet. Please consult www.filmyourissue.com for further information and to register for updates and to submit entries. Content received from: Indie Film Force, http://indiefilmforce.org