Rain Bird Corporation

The global demand for water is growing. Of all the earth's water, only 1% is fresh water suitable for human consumption. The United Nations anticipates that more than 2.7 billion people will face severe water shortages by 2025. The Intelligent Use of Water film competition is intended to use film and video as a tool for inspiring action and awareness around water conservation. The competition asks: "Is a global water crisis inevitable?" and calls for short films that feature intelligent ways of using water more efficiently.

Submissions of any genre, from one to twenty minutes in length are accepted (including excerpts of longer films.) The finalists will be judged by a yet to be named celeb panel and will be screened in October in LA. The winner of the juried competition will receive $6000, and the audience pick will get $3000.

It is Rain Bird's business to care about water - they're a manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services for 70 years, and pride themselves on their innovations in this field of work from small residential installations to large public properties, sports arenas, golf courses, business and agriculture. They already have a series of PSAs (public service announcements) and a free, downloadable teaching curriculum available for classroom use on the importance of water and using it wisely. The film competition is another way for the company to promote outreach on water conservation issues.

This is the latest in an ever increasing call for enviro-related film and video content, but the Intelligent Use of Water film competition does stand out in regards to the specific nature of the competition and the way it is screened and judged. Rain Bird has taken a more conventional film festival approach to the competition and has taken it offline. They're also accepting segments from longer films, which nearly unheard of in juried film competitions.

While the screening evening may or may not be sponsor heavy, the focus right now is on the topic. Rain Bird is of course is the main sponsor, but on initial appearances the company seems to be focused on intelligent uses of water and sharing information in the effort of preserving one of the world's limited natural resources.

More information on Rain Bird and the film competition:

Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition

Rain Bird

More information on water use and conservation:

EPA Water Sense
Alliance for Water Efficiency
California Urban Water Conservation Council
WateReuse Association
United Nations Water

The UK based climate change charity will showcase the work of aspiring filmmakers by having them create films that make a difference. The contest is open to any genre, live action or animation, and welcomes any perspective on global warming.

Global Cool wants to get people thinking about climate change and to further their ten-year commitment to inspire 1billion people to reduce their personal CO2 emissions. This competition is another avenue to build awareness and spread the word.

After the June 30 entry deadline the films will be available on SceneWon.com for public voting and public commenting. The top ten films with the most votes will win a cash prize, as will the films with top reviews.

And as a special prize, Global Cool ambassador Sienna Miller will pick the 'cool film of the month' whose filmmaker will get a pair of eco-friendly, Worn Again shoes.

Online video contests and user generated content are hot right now and I don't see it cooling off any time soon. It can be difficult to get entries that stay within the criteria for these type of contests (many don't meet the required length and are often times over), but five minutes should be long enough for one to make a statement on climate change. I'm anticipating a lot of documentary-style entries, but would like to see some narrative or animation pieces thrown in the mix. I'll keep an eye on this contest and feature my favorites when entries go online.