Attention Filmmakers: Who Wants To Go To Sundance?

Project: Direct, YouTube's annual short film competition, is back to offer another talented filmmaker a chance to be discovered!

This year we've partnered with AOL Moviefone and The Sundance Film Festival to bring you this challenge: direct an original short film incorporating three specific props. One must be a red phone and the other two must be chosen from a list of 25 props that have played stand-out roles in some of the most memorable films to emerge from the Sundance Film Festival over the past 25 years. To choose your props, visit www.youtube.com/projectdirect.

Submissions open on November 16 and close at 9PM PST on December 14. A panel of Sundance Film Festival executives will review your film and whittle the competition down to 10 semi-finalists. Then, on December 27, the YouTube community will start voting for the winning film.

If you win, you'll be off to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where you'll meet with the Festival's Director of Programming and screen your film at a festival event. The top three films will also take home cash prizes and be distributed on DVD to industry executives at the Festival.

While the competition proper is only officially open to entrants in the US, Canada, Brazil, UK, Spain, Italy and France, everyone is welcome to submit and we will feature top films on the YouTube site.

Need some inspiration to get started? Check out last year's three finalists:

Visit the Project: Direct channel to learn more, and take advantage of a rare opportunity to introduce your work to both a global audience and key industry executives.


Good luck,

Sara P.