Tomorrow's Scorsese? Expedia Sponsors Short Film Contest For Participants At National Film Festival For Talented Youth

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  Expedia.com®, the world's largest online travel agency, today announced that it will sponsor the 2012 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), the premier showcase of the best young directors – aged 22 and younger – from around the world. NFFTY is a festival put on by The Talented Youth, a non-profit organization founded in 2007. Since its inception, NFFTY has grown to be the world's largest youth film festival. The 2012 NFFTYs are taking place in Seattle, Washington, from April 26 through April 29, 2012.

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Joe Megibow, Expedia's vice president and general manager, formally announced the Expedia® Film Contest on NFFTY's opening day. The Expedia contest will feature short films directed by past and present NFFTY Filmmakers. The films will be 2 – 3 minutes in length and will include travel as a theme, though the directors will have wide latitude on how to incorporate that theme.

How to Enter

To enter, filmmakers must create and upload their videos to Expedia's Facebook page. The submission period begins on June 11 and ends on June 24. From June 25 – July 6th, Facebook fans will be given the chance to select the ten finalists via vote. Finalists and winners will be posted on the NFFTY site and on the Expedia media room. Expedia has convened a panel of experts to determine the ultimate winner. The winning candidate will earn $10,000. The runner up will earn $5,000 and the third-place winner will earn $2,500.

"NFFTY is a Seattle-based organization, as are we, and we think the growth and success of this film festival is terrific," said Joe Megibow, vice president and general manager, Expedia.com. "We are proud to help support the next generation of filmmakers. The passion and talent of these young artists embody the spirit of travel, a theme that has been a rich source of film material for decades. We can't wait to see the results."

Jesse Harris, Artistic Director and Founder of NFFTY, said, "We're so thrilled to have the support of a company we all use and love like Expedia. I know our filmmakers are going to find great inspiration in the theme and create some unbelievable short films." 

For more information about the Expedia Film Contest, please visit the Expedia media room or NFFTY, and be sure to follow along on Twitter @Expedia or #ExpediaNFFTY.

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