“Project Harmony, Inc.” (PH International), with the support of the U.S. Embassy in the Russian Federation, is proud to announce:
Russian American History Video Contest 2019 – America in Russia
Deadline: January 14, 2019
The U.S. Embassy invites teams consisting of three students (8-10th grades) and a teacher, to create a video, animation, comic book panels, artwork, or a cartoon (hereafter referred to as “the video”) that describes an American object, idea or innovation that can be found in Russia today and and serves as an example of our shared history and values.
The process:
- Create a team of 4 (3 students, 1 teacher).
- Do research. You might find something from America in your community owned by a friend or relative, or you may find something in a nearby museum or school. You might also find your subject through online searches. It could be a physical object, or it could be an invention or innovation (technological, cultural, linguistic, or otherwise) that has survived until today. But it must exist in Russia.
- Make a video, cartoon, animation, or film your comic book story or artistic creation.
- Upload your video and submit before January 14!
The winners will travel to the United States in July 2019, will visit Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Alaska, and will participate in the annual Fort Ross Festival!
Submissions should meet the following criteria:
- The video should be a short film or animated cartoon, no longer than 5 minutes.
- The video should be about ONE thing (an object, invention, innovation, etc.) that is originally from America but that exists today in Russia and serves as an example of our common culture and shared values. What was it? How did it get here? What positive impact did it have on Russia? How has it been preserved to this day? Be concrete: what are the most important aspects of your idea? Be specific: think about how you could bring the message home to the viewer of your video.
- The video should be an original piece of work but may include open source video and pictures, photos. You may not copy written songs or videos from commercial films or musicians. When in doubt, don’t use video or images from the internet.
- The video should be produced specifically for this contest. It shouldn’t have been used before.
- The video should not include any objectionable, explicit, or discriminatory content.
- The video can be created in any format, including, but not limited to, video, documentary or theatrical performance, stop motion or computer animation, puppet or clay cartoons, sand animation, flip-books, comic book panels, or any combination of styles.
- The video should be uploaded on YouTube, or another easily accessible video hosting site, but the video SHOULD NOT be made public; it should be uploaded as unlisted. The link to the video should be included in the online application form.
- The video should be in English with Russian subtitles. All 4 team members’ voices must be in the video. We must hear spoken English from all 4.
- By submitting your video you guarantee it is your team’s original, unpublished, work and that you consent to its future publication on other websites.
As part of the application process, each team should submit a link to a private video with a short introduction by the team meeting the following requirements:
- No longer than 2 minutes. Longer introductory video presentations will disqualify the application.
- Introduce each team member – all members should participate.
- Summarize the idea of the video.
- Should be in English.
- Uploaded on YouTube, but the video SHOULD NOT be public (It should be uploaded as unlisted).
Team requirements:
- The team should consist of three students (grades 8-10) and one teacher.
- All team members must be proficient in English.
- One teacher cannot lead more than one team.
- One team should submit no more than one video.
- Winners of the 2015 – 2018 Fort Ross contests are not eligible to participate.
The four winning teams will travel to the United States in July 2019, will visit Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Alaska, and will participate in the annual Fort Ross Festival!
Key dates:
The contest opens October 25, 2018. The timeline is as follows:
- Acceptance of entries: October 25, 2018 – January 14, 2019
- Review of submitted proposals, selection of semifinalists: January 15 – February 14, 2019
- Skype interviews with semi-finalists: February 15-25, 2019
- Winning teams announced: February 28, 2019
- Winning teams travel to the United States: July 2019
Criteria:
Contest videos will be judged by a panel of history experts, English teachers, American Studies professors and US specialists, and will be judged by the following criteria:
- Research into the subject
- Depth of knowledge about the subject
- Creativity of the presentation
- English language skills of the entire team
- NOTE: video production, editing, and film quality will NOT be judged.
This program is implemented by PH International with support from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Participation in the contest is free of charge. Winners should have international passports, and permission from parents to travel, and be able to travel to the United States of America in July-August 2019.
To apply, please fill out the online application (https://www.fortrosscontest.online/). To submit the application, please register or log in using your Facebook, VK or Google+ accounts.
The deadline for the 2018 Russian American History Video Contest is January 14, 2019.
If you have any questions, please contact us at fortross@ph-int.org
