VietNamNet Bridge – The 2011 Southeast Asian Student Documentary Awards encourage young people in the region to raise pressing social and environmental issues through films.

Organised by Germany's Goethe cultural institutes in the region, the competition is for students aged between 18 and 28 in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Titled Tree[s] of Life: Seeds of Change this year, organisers hope entries highlight natural forests and their effects on people's lives.

Forests are under threat in Southeast Asia and around the world from deforestation, industrialisation, or the effects of climate change.

But organisations and individuals are also actively playing a role in healing the relationship between forests and people, thus sowing seeds of change.

The film contest encourages its participants to consider these issues through their works.

Contestants should submit a portfolio of their works and a motivational essay on making a film under the theme by September 2.

A jury of filmmakers, TV producers, and forestry experts in each country will select three works, with priority given to creative and unique views.

The three finalists will then get a grant of US$300 to produce a documentary film running for no longer than 10 minutes on the contest theme. These films should be submitted by November 11.

During their two months of filming, the young filmmakers will work under the guidance of a board of consultants who will help them explore and develop their ideas.

The three regional winners, who will be selected by an international jury, will get a cash prize of $500 each.

The first place winner will also get a grant of up to $5,000 to produce a feature-length documentary.

The awards will be announced on November 27.

In Viet Nam, the contest has aroused widespread interest at cinematography schools in large cities like Ha Noi, Da Nang and HCM City.

"My friends and I are interested in the contest because we can learn more about cinematography, a visual art that has a common language that needs no translation," Nguyen Thi Binh Minh, a second-year student at the HCM City Theatre and Cinematography College, said.

Contestants can submit their entries at http://www.goethe.de/ins/th/prj/wif/sdc/viindex.htm.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News