Countdown to World Water Day Short Film Contest

To celebrate World Water Day 2010 ITVS and the University of Miami invite you to participate in the One Cut contest, a non-fiction short film contest designed to bring attention to the global water crisis affecting millions around the world. We are looking for films that will inspire viewers to make a change in their own lives to address the global water challenge at a personal level. The best entries will be personal, creative, visual stories that can be shared across all borders and languages.

The contest has three cash prizes:
* First prize: $500
* Second prize: $300
* Third prize: $200

Films should be at least 2 minutes in length and can be no more than 15 minutes long. Entrants are required to submit their films in digital form online and will be guided through the application process when they submit their entry form online. A distinguished panel at the School of Communication, University of Miami, will judge the contest.

The competition will be open until March 22, 2010 on World Water Day. Prizes will be announced shortly after.

Learn more about the contest and submit your entry today >>

Tags: environmental, video contest, water, World Water Day

One Water Project Launches on World Water Day

Did you know one in eight people worldwide lack access to clean water, and that water-related illnesses account for the deaths of 5,000 children every day?

Now is a great time to learn more about this critical issue. March 22 is World Water Day, an international celebration of fresh water, organized annually by the United Nations to call attention to water resources worldwide.

This year, ITVS marks World Water Day with the launch of a special media project. A collaboration between the University of Miami and ITVS International, with support from the Knight Foundation, the One Water Project is dedicated to coverage of water issues and solutions through international public television broadcasts and the Web.

Public television partners in Bahrain, Colombia, India and South Africa have joined the One Water effort, each creating a half-hour program about water from a local perspective. These partners will be airing their productions alongside a University of Miami-produced documentary, 1H20, which examines the global water crisis using a non-verbal and universally accessible approach to storytelling.

An accompanying 1H20 Web site showcases the work of international journalists with articles, video, blog posts and resources about the water crisis. Check out the site and enter the 1H20 video contest––One Take––which launches on March 22. One Take, invites participants to submit a two-minute video monologue in response to the question: “Is water a basic human right?” Videos will be accepted in any language and the winner will be awarded U.S. $500. There will also be a prize for the qualifying entry that gets translated into the most number of languages using translation functionality created by DotSub.com. A series of online video contests are scheduled to take place over the next year in an effort to facilitate a global discussion about the world water crisis.

For inspiration, watch the clips below from our international broadcast partners in Colombia and South Africa.

Tags: environmental, video contest, water, World Water Day