BRAZILIAN STUDENTS WIN TOP PRIZE IN UN FILM COMPETITION

BRAZILIAN STUDENTS WIN TOP PRIZE IN UN FILM COMPETITION
New York, Jun 12 2007 8:00AM
Nine Brazilian students have been recognized by the United Nations for a short film they produced on violence in their country and beyond.

The UN Department of Public Information (DPI) awarded a prize to the film "Looks can be Deceiving" in the FYI - Film Your Issue competition, which encourages young people to add their voice to the public dialogue by producing 30 to 60 second films on social issues.

The film addresses the issue of peace in areas of conflict around the world -- Palestine, Haiti and Iraq -- but shows scenes of military and police raids in the streets of the Brazilian metropolis.

"Our main motivation in producing the movie was to show how serious violence in Rio has become," said Danilo Marcondes, one of the filmmakers. In creating the film, the students had access to film equipment from the UN Information Centre in the city.

Runners-up in the category UN/Global Issues were the film "Stains," about the struggles over territory, and "The Terrorist" about the issue of tolerance from the perspective of a Muslim immigrant in the United States, DPI said in a news release. Both films were produced by US college students.

DPI's Outreach Division partnered with FYI for this year's competition and extended it beyond the United States to allow students worldwide to focus on issues of importance to them. Through its network of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) located around the world, DPI encouraged the participation of students especially from developing countries.

2007-06-12 00:00:00.000

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