New York, NY Sept. 17, 2007 – Jehane Noujaim, award-winning documentary filmmaker of Control Room, with help of the prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) prize, is seeking filmmakers – professional or amateur everywhere to produce films for Pangea Day, a landmark, one-day, global film event showcasing short films from around the world on May 10, 2008.
YouTube.com (http://www.youtube.com/) is supporting Pangea Day by hosting the trailer on its homepages to encourage filmmakers to submit videos. Noujaim’s vision for people everywhere from all countries and cultures is to create short films about what makes them happy, angry, sad, or hopeful. Most importantly, Noujaim is looking for films that evoke universal sentiments.
“In a world where people are divided by borders, differences and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we have in common,” says Noujaim. “Pangea Day seeks to overcome that, to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.”
On May 10, 2008, Pangea Day venues in New York City, Rio, London, Dharamsala, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Kigali will be video-conferenced live to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music. More importantly, the world will be watching as the program will be broadcast live through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.
Celebrities and other influential people have are already committed to this project. Advisory Board members include:
The TED community is also rallying around the project, in particular with the support of Avenue A | Razorfish, an interactive agency who has generously donated its creative services to Pangea Day, which includes the creation of the web site (www.pangeaday.org) and digital advertising and marketing services. TEDsters are also supporting the project financially, including a $1million pledge from TED Curator Chris Anderson.
"My foundation has pledged support for the project because of my conviction that all the toughest global issues – war, poverty, public health, global warming – have at their core a failure of moral imagination. If enough of us could abandon us/them thinking and really see people from all cultures as part of one connected whole, the world would find the political will to solve these problems,” says Anderson. “Film has the power to inspire that moral imagination, and Pangea Day will be a transformative way of harnessing that power."
How to produce and submit your short film:
Pangea Day films are meant to be visual stories, ones that can be understood despite language barriers, and therefore should not rely on dialogue. If dialogue is required, Pangea Day organizers are asking that videos have English subtitles so that all films can be translated. In order to show as many videos as possible, submissions must be 5 minutes or less.
Filmmakers with submissions should upload their films at http://www.youtube.com/group/pangeaday and register their film at www.pangeaday.org.
A panel of jurors, led by Noujaim and other renowned members of the film community, will review all submissions and select the winning films to be screened on Pangea Day.
About TED
TED is an invitation-only event where the world's leading thinkers and doers gather for inspiration and insight. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. Each year, TED features 50 of the world's most fascinating people. TED presenters run the world's most admired companies and design its best-loved products; they invent world-changing devices, and write best-selling books. Collectively, they have won every major prize awarded for excellence, including the Nobel, Pritzker, Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Macarthur "Genius" grant. TED was first held in Monterey, CA in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder Richard Saul Wurman. Visit www.ted.com for more information.
About Pangea Day
Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and empathy while uniting millions of people to build a better future. Pangea Day was created by award-winning documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim after she won the prestigious TED Prize. Pangea Day’s mission is to create a worldwide network of caring and concerned citizens who will make a difference. Visit www.pangeaday.org for more information.
About Avenue A | Razorfish™
Avenue A | Razorfish is one of the largest interactive marketing and technology services agencies in the world. The company helps industry leaders such as Starwood Hotels, Kraft, Ford Motor Company and Carnival Cruise Lines use digital channels to acquire and service customers. Avenue A | Razorfish's full suite of digital offerings includes online advertising, Web site design and development, email and search engine marketing, emerging media strategies, and enterprise portal development. Its award-winning client teams have a great understanding of customer needs and provide solutions through distinct business disciplines, which include: analytics, strategy, technology, media, creative design and user experience. Avenue A | Razorfish has offices in markets across the United States, and global operations in Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.