I admit it. I’m a card carrying member of AMIA. To those readers who have no knowledge of the people and organizations that help preserve the treasures of our cinematic past—a “new” medium’s history that spans more than a century—that’s the Association of Moving Image Archivists. There’s a wealth of information you can learn about film/video/digital preservation at the AMIA website, through its very active (and often quite technical) listserv, which you can join or view past messages by clicking on the “Participate” tab in the home page’s main banner.
But now there’s room for filmmakers of any garden variety to enter AMIA’s first short film competition! Contestants must create a film or video “that best conveys the importance of preserving the world’s moving image heritage.” In celebrating its 20th anniversary, the association is providing an opportunity “to emphasize the importance of saving moving images as important educational, historical, and cultural resources.”
Another challenge is doing that in 180 seconds or less; 3 minutes tops.
The single grand prize is $2,500, the winner to be announced on October 27th as part of the World Day of Audiovisual Heritage celebration. Attendees at AMIA’s annual conference (this year being a joint event with IASA–International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives), being held in Philadelphia, will be able to watch it as part of the Archival Screening Night program on November 5th. It will also play on the AMIA website.
A single runner-up gets a $1,000 award and a website window alongside the other finalists.
Full details and the required entry form (anyone can enter and there is NO ENTRY FEE!) can be found at http://www.amianet.org/events/events/short_contest.php.
