Elon University is establishing the first ever 50/50 Film Festival. It will demand filmmaking teams write, shoot, edit and finalize a short film in only 50 hours. An extra twist to the rules limits teams to a maximum of 50 spoken words in their script, thus placing a premium on visual story telling techniques.

The teams will have from 3 p.m., March 9 until 5 p.m., March 11 to complete their films. A cash prize of $300 will be awarded to the winner, and the runner-up team receives $200.

Following the model of Testing Positive from last year, the long-term plan is to use most of the films as raw material for a 30-minute treatment called the Global Citizen movie.

A panel of judges will screen all of the entries between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, and a public screening will be held beginning at 7 p.m. The winners will be announced at the Winners Reception shortly after the last film screening.

Elon Universitys Mission Statement that states, in part, We integrate learning across the disciplines and put knowledge into practice, thus preparing students to be global citizens and informed leaders motivated by concern for the common good,inspired this years film festival topic.

More specifically, the filmmakers will be asked to address the following questions: What does it mean to be a global citizen? How does your role as a global citizen influence the actions you take? What are the strains and contradictions between being an American citizen and a global citizen? How do you balance a personal life [as son/daughter/friend/lover] and your role as global citizen?

A poetry and lyric contest is also connected to the film. Participants will address the same topic as the filmmakers and are to submit their work by 5 p.m. March 9. The best of these poems/lyrics will be used as part of the soundtrack for the Global Citizen movie. Winners will also be announced at the Winners Reception following the film screenings.

This event is co-sponsored by the School of Communications, the Counsel on Civic Engagement and Project Pericles. For more information please contact Dr. Tom Arcaro at arcaro@elon.edu.

Reporter: Alexander Heller - 02/22/07