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AMD Alliance International Announces the Winners of its First Film Contest
More than 40 videos were submitted from every corner of the world to AMD Alliance International's first global film competition aimed at raising much-needed awareness of macular disease. With so many terrific entries in the short film contest (3 minutes or less), the judges really had their work cut out for them!
The winning video was an animated short entitled "Eyes." The video was submitted by Adam Mosher, 22, an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph, near Toronto, ON. In just 55 seconds, the video delivers key messages concerning the risk factors, effects and treatment options for AMD. Mosher will receive the $10,000 (US) grand prize and the video will be used in the future as part of AMDAI's communications efforts. The winning video can be seen here: "Eyes."
The second place video, which will receive a $2,000 prize is "What You Should Know About AMD," and was submitted by David Knight, a film editor in Raleigh Durham, NC, and can be seen here: "What You Should Know About AMD."
The third place award was shared by two videos: "Don't Take Your Vision for Granted" was submitted by Jennifer Hoge, a filmmaker in Los Angeles. Click here to see "Don't Take Your Vision for Granted."
And, "Blue-Haired Girls," submitted by screenwriter and filmmaker Edmund "Wayne" Brandenburg of Los Angeles, can be viewed here: "Blue Haired Girls." Each third place video entrant receives $1,000.
Honorable mentions include three additional videos:
"See What's Important to You" (Tina Radel, Kennebunk, MA),
"Sight is Connection" (Scott Cramer, Brooklyn, NY),
"Save Your SIght" (Adriana Baird, Newport Beach, CA).
The contest was conducted through the popular video sharing website YouTube. All 40 of the videos entered in the contest can be viewed here on AMDAI's YouTube Playlist.
"The videos accomplish the goal of illustrating, quite literally in many cases, what it is like to have AMD and what can be done about it," said Allie Laban-Baker, Vice President of Global Communications, AMDAI. "We believe they are entertaining and engaging, while serving an important public health purpose--alerting people about this very serious condition."
Awareness of AMD is critical to managing the disease. Although it is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50, is linked to depression and other issues and can often be prevented, research has shown that even among people most at risk, acquiring AMD is not viewed as a major concern.
The contest was judged by a panel of experts including professional film Producer/Director Doug Metzger; Two Horns Entertainment Group and Black Dog Films President & CEO, Bill Kunkel; and Hollywood Producer/Screenplay Writer John Wilder.
"We were impressed with the submissions which employ a variety of film techniques to creatively demonstrate how macular degeneration affects people, how debilitating it can be, and how it can be treated," said Doug Metzger. "The visual representations use the power of film and good storytelling to make this incredibly important point. Viewing the videos, people who did not understand the threat of macular degeneration will be motivated to take action to protect their vision."
Special thanks go out to our judges and to all of the contestants for helping to spread the word about AMD across the globe.
Plans are underway to promote these videos throughout the world both online and with the media. Organizations interested in showcasing the videos on their website, should contact Allie Laban-Baker at allie.labanbaker@amdalliance.org.
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