PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival 2017, USA

Publish Date: Apr 21, 2017

Deadline: Jun 04, 2017

Join the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival in New York

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) invite youth from around the world to submit original and creative videos focusing on the PLURAL+ theme of migration, diversity and social inclusion.

In a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions, it is vital that youth are recognized as powerful agents of social change. PLURAL+ encourages youth to address key challenges and opportunities related to social inclusion and cohesion, migrant integration, respect for identity, diversity, human rights and xenophobia, both at local and global levels through video production. Young people aged up to 25 are invited to submit short videos of five minutes maximum in length for consideration in the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival.

“PLURAL+ provides youth around the world with the opportunity to submit real stories told by real people, which when widely disseminated help to foster intercultural dialogue and understanding as well as respect for diversity and tolerance,” says Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.

Each year since 2009, a prestigious international jury selects three PLURAL+ International Jury Award winners in each age category (up to 12, 13-17, 18-25). The International Jury Award winners will receive $1,000 as well as be invited to New York, all travel expenses paid, to present their work at the PLURAL + 2017 Festival Awards Ceremony at the Paley Center for Media and possibly as well at the United Nations Headquarters in Fall 2017. PLURAL+ partner organizations will also award other prizes and professional opportunities to over 20 of the best videos submitted, partners award winning videos will be invited to present their work at film and video festivals, conferences and events around the world.

In addition to the three International Jury award winners, this year PLURAL+ will also provide, for the first time, the “PLURAL+ Award for the Prevention of Xenophobia”, and the winner will also be flown to New York to participate and present his/her video at the PLURAL+ 2017 Festival and Awards Ceremony on 9 November at the United Nations Headquarters and on 10 November at the Paley Center for Media in New York.

“We all know this to be true: increased participation of youth in the media is essential. These youth – these agents of social change – make up a large portion of today’s migrant population, and they have something valuable to tell us about their migration experiences. And this is what PLURAL+ aims to achieve: to provide young filmmakers with a global platform to share their thoughts and experiences with us,” says Mr. William Lacy Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration.

PLURAL+ supports young people’s expression by providing them with a variety of media platforms and distribution networks, including broadcasts, video festivals, conferences and events around the world. PLURAL+ not only provides young people with an effective platform to raise their voices on key migration and diversity issues, but also reinforces the firm belief of IOM and UNAOC that the powerful expression of youth creativity is a force to be reckoned with.

Eligibility

  • Entrants to PLURAL+ must be of maximum 25 years of age at the time of the production of the video submitted to PLURAL+.
  • People appearing in the video do not have to be youth. However the videos must reflect the youth’s opinions or reflections about migration, diversity and social inclusion.
  • Multiple youth may work together to make one video, as long as all members of the group are maximum 25 years of age at the time of the production of the video submitted to PLURAL+.
  • Only minimal roles of any adults (over the age of 25) involved in the making of the video (e.g. educators, teachers, instructors, etc.) is acceptable (group coordination, technical support, renting equipment, etc.). It is understood that particularly for the age group of up to 12 years, educators could have a more substantial role in the production of the video.
  • If multiple youth work together on one video then the video will be judged in the age category of the entrant who has a primary role in the creation of the video.
  • Immediate family members (siblings, children and grandchildren) of IOM, UNAOC and the jurors for the PLURAL+ Video Festival are not eligible to enter.

Format

  • All videos should be submitted as a file (preferably as “.mov”) via a file hosting website like dropbox.com, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc. The entrant may also choose to mail a DVD of the video entry to PLURAL+ mailing address.
  • Videos that are not in English must have English subtitles.
  • All videos must be five (5) minutes maximum of running time, including title and end credits.

Consent and Copyright

  • All videos must be accompanied by a signed entry form.
  • If the entrant is a minor in his/her country of residence then the entry form must be co-signed by the entrant’s parent or legal guardian.
  • PLURAL+ will seek written consent of the parents or legal guardians of the makers of the winning videos.
  • Entrants must obtain the consent of everyone appearing in their videos if their faces are recognizable.
  • Entrants must obtain the consent of everyone whose copyrighted, patented or trademarked material, including music, appears or is included in their videos.
  • Videos do not have to have been made specifically for the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival, but videos must have been completed after January 2015.

Subject

  • No video may contain vulgarity, violence, defamatory language or any other subject deemed by the PLURAL+ Video Festival organizers to be inappropriate for the tone of the competition.
  • Videos must pertain to the topics of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and related topics.
  • Reflecting on these topics, videos should show the youth’s thoughts, experiences, opinions, questions and suggestions.
  • Videos may be of whatever type, style or genre that the entrant wishes – animated, documentary, drama, music video, comedy etc.
  • Videos should reflect the aims of the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival, which are:
    • To recognize youth as agents of social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions.
    • To involve youth in addressing questions on migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social inclusion wherever they be in the world.
    • To encourage the practical contributions of young people in not just identifying constraints, but also in promoting a climate of respect and appreciation for each other.

Submissions

  • All entries must include a fully completed and signed entry form, including co-signature by a parent, guardian, teacher or responsible adult if the entrant is a minor in his/her country of residence.
  • If submitting a DVD, each package must contain:.
    1. The fully completed entry form
    2. The DVD of the video
    3. All DVDs must have the name of the entrant and the English title of the video printed on top of the DVD in permanent marker.
    4. Videos must be sent to:
      PLURAL+
      United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
      730 Third Ave, 20th Floor
      New York, NY 10017 USA
      Phone: +1 929-274-6216
  • If submitting through a file hosting website, participants should send an email to plural@unaoc.org. In the subject line write PLURAL+ 2017 VIDEO ENTRY, and the text mail should include:
    • Title of the videos
    • Name of the authors
    • Address/link for download of the video
    • Contact email
  • a. Participants must follow these instructions or risk their entry not being accepted.
  • b. The Entry Form must also be included as an attachment to the email. Videos will not be accepted without the Entry Form completed and signed.
  • PLURAL+ is not responsible for the cost of sending videos.
  • PLURAL+ will not be able to return the DVDs so please keep master copy of your video in a safe place.
  • PLURAL+ is not responsible for lost, late, misrouted, misappropriated, or damaged entries.
    Entrants must inform the PLURAL+ Video Festival organizers if their contact information changes at any time between submitting their video and the announcement of the competition winner.
  • The official language of the PLURAL+ Video Festival is English.

Prizes and Awards

    • The PLURAL+ JURY AWARD prizes will be awarded in three (3) age-based categories:
      • up to 12 years old
      • 13 to 17 years old
      • 18 to 25 years old
    • The PLURAL+ Jury Awards will be awarded to one entrant per category and will be selected by an independent international jury.
      The 3 winners of the PLURAL+ JURY AWARD will each receive US$1,000 after the PLURAL+ 2017 Awards Ceremony
    • One representative of each PLURAL+ International Jury Award winner will be invited to New York, with airfare and hotel accommodation paid, to present their work at the PLURAL+ 2017 Awards Ceremony in New York in the fall of 2017. Only a youth entrant with one chaperone for each winning video will be flown to New York.
    • PLURAL+ 2017 will also select a video for the PLURAL+ Award for the Prevention of Xenophobia
    • Additional awards may be given by PLURAL+ partners and may include equipment, travel or professional opportunities. IOM and UNAOC or PLURAL+ bear no responsibility regarding partner awards.  
  • Winning videos will receive broad recognition and exposure through wide multi-platform distribution of their work, including broadcast, satellite, internet, film festivals and possibly DVD.
  • Winning entrants will be notified no later than 15 August 2017.
  • A prestigious international jury will announce the winners in New York during an event in the Fall of 2017 in New York. 

For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.


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