YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community. Everyday, millions of people can discover, watch and share videos from around the world with a click of the mouse. Starting Sunday and continuing through Nov. 9, YouTube is inviting filmmakers from Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States to submit original films between two to seven minutes in length for consideration in the Web site’s first international film competition. A panel of experts, including “Thank You For Smoking” director Jason Reitman, will select 20 finalists and then the YouTube community will vote on the finalists’ films from Nov. 23 through Dec. 2. The winners will be announced on Dec. 5. The winner will spend nine days at an international film festival, as a guest of Hewlett- Packard, where they will meet with Fox Searchlight executives and receive a $5,000 debit card. The winning video will be played on the YouTube homepage in each of the seven competing countries.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 5, 2007. Read the original PDF.