Monday, June 15, 2009

Palms for Life Fund Launches Young Filmmakers' Competition to Document Hunger in the United States

A new national film contest, Faces of Hunger in America, will award prizes to young filmmakers, 25 years of age and under, who document in their own communities the increasingly widespread problem of hunger in America. The top three winners will receive cash prizes of $5,000, $3,500 and $1,500; they will get exposure to a vast audience in a full-length compilation of the prize-winning works.

"Over 36 million Americans are living in food insecurity - 12.4 million being children - and we want to bring this alarming reality to the attention of the public and the nation's leaders," says Hannah Laufer-Rottman, Executive Director and founder of Palms for Life Fund (*), the main sponsor of the contest.

Laufer-Rottman, who retired from the United Nations' World Food Programme after 30 years, says the effects of domestic hunger are just as pressing as the epidemic of hunger and poverty on a global level. "Everyone knows what hunger looks like in third world countries, but the effects of hunger here are quite different. Obesity, malnutrition, physical/mental impairments...are all effects of hunger. When people are unable to access consistently sustainable amounts of food for a healthy life, society suffers as a whole."

Young filmmakers will be able to upload their entries online, where the public will partake in the first round of voting beginning October 16th, World Food Day. "By empowering the public to vote for their favorite films, we are ensuring that the films get viewed and the problem is exposed. Change begins with awareness," says Project Manager, Sandra Ciccone.

Finalists will be judged on the clear conveyance of the message, creativity, impact and overall quality of the work.

To find out more about the competition, please visit the official website: http://www.facesofhunger.org and register for the mailing list if you are interested in participating in the contest.

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