Nokia premieres Mobile Filmmaking Awards

Nokia announced the launch of its 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards, encouraging contestants to upload their user-generated shorts to the handset giant's Share on Ovi free media sharing service. Nokia is mounting the contest in collaboration with Pangea Day, an event created by documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim to connect people via film in an effort to encourage viewers to consider the world from someone else's perspective. Consumers who register via Nokia's Ovi mobile web portal may vote to select five finalists, who will have their videos screened during the Pangea Day broadcast event May 10 and win a trip to the live Pangea Day broadcast site in Los Angeles.A panel of professional judges including Noujaim and pop musician Dave Stewart will select a grand prize winner who will also receive a production budget to record their trip to SoCal.

Contestants may submit their 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards entries through April 15. To be eligible for consideration, each short must clock in under two minutes and focus on one of the following themes: Acts of kindness, inspirational figures, the best part of the day or something that makes you smile. "This competition is a great way for anyone in the world to get involved in the global Pangea Day event and increases awareness for how converged mobile devices and services are helping to connect people of diverse backgrounds," said Nokia Entertainment and Communities executive vice president Tero Ojanpera in a prepared statement.