The Prize
· An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood.
· Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington
· Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry.
· Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society.
The Timeline
· SUBMISSION DEADLINE – JANUARY 31, 2009
· Challenge semifinalists will be selected February – March 2009.
· An independent jury will narrow down the semifinalists to 21 finalists April 1 – May 15 2009.
· The general public will vote online for the winning videos May 15 – June 15, 2009.
· Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2009.
· In October 2009, the six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize.
The Details
· You must be 18 or older to enter.
· Videos can be any style: fiction or documentary, animated or live action.
· Videos must be no longer than three minutes.
· Videos must be in English or have English subtitles.
· Contestants may enter anonymously, but anonymous winners cannot collect the grand prize.
· See contest site for a complete list of rules, www.videochallenge.america.gov.
The Democracy Video Challenge is a world-wide competition for aspiring filmmakers to create and submit a 3-minute video completing the phrase “Democracy is…” All videos can be uploaded onto YouTube directly. Certain rules apply. Please see the following websites for additional information:
http://www.videochallenge.america.gov/
http://www.youtube.com/democracychallenge