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Polyglot Video Contest

All young and creative-minded Europeans (EU or non-EU residents) aged 18-35 will be eagerly welcomed to express themselves and share ideas on the topic of multilingualism through short films. Participants can now upload their works onto an interactive web platform, where the public will be able to view, comment and vote on them.

Submit your short about multilingualism to win your place aboard Polyglot, an itinerant filmmaking event travelling across the archipelago of Turku, Finland!

Introduction

Multilingualism. Even the word itself is hard to pronounce in a hurry without getting tonguetied. In the EU alone there are 23 languages – not including the myriad of non-official languages and dialects. Let’s face it; navigating within an enormous tower of babble can represent a logistical nightmare. Yet linguistic diversity is also a great strength, because it reflects an infinitely rich cultural landscape.

Of course languages are living organisms, constantly evolving – sometimes even against efforts to control wordplay. The international dominance of English and the political status of minority languages are just a few of the topics currently heating up debate, just as Europeans are becoming increasingly mobile for travel, work, life and love. And the young “Eurogeneration” is facing new linguistic challenges head on, finding ways to break down borders in communication whilst preserving their own identities. In other words, being a polyglot is in some way the norm.

Objective

Submit video entries in the following two categories:

  • Video Portraits (Documentaries on My multilingualism) – Do you speak different languages on a regular basis? Describe the linguistic environment you live in, and how it affects you personally.
  • Video Poems (Fictions on The language I dream in) – Use the audiovisual medium to its full artistic potential. Share with us your most original and creative ideas about language.

Prizes

18 winning videos will be selected by online voters, alongside a special jury (to be announced). The selected young filmmakers will then be invited to participate in a 2-week “Cine-Boat” documentary filmmaking workshop in June 2011, during which they will explore the archipelago of Turku and Åland Islands by boat and make six films in groups on the theme of multilingualism, guided by professional tutors. This region has a particular linguistic context, as it is home to communities of Swedish Finns with their own distinct identity.

The filmmakers will then present their work to the local public during a 2-day film festival in the city of Turku. All short films of the project will later be diffused through a DVD compilation and further screenings across Europe!

Rules

  • Contestants must be resident in a European country (EU or non-EU) and aged 18-35.
  • Works of maximum 5 minutes length, produced since 1st January 2008 are eligible.

How to enter?

Applying is a two-step process which consists of uploading your clip to Vimeo and then filling in the online application form.

  1. Upload your video to Vimeo and join the contest’s group on Vimeo.
  2. Fill out the application form.

If you don’t see your video right away don’t worry, it takes some time for the video to be converted and to appear on the Vimeo group page.