Jul 29 2008
Rain Bird, the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services, announced today the addition of documentarian Jim Thebaut to the panel of judges for the 2008 Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition. The critically acclaimed writer, director and producer will join current judges Gary McVey, executive director of the American Cinema Foundation, and Amanda Pope, associate professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, in reviewing filmmaker submissions and choosing a winner at the competition’s final screening event at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden on October 11, 2008.
Prior to the screening of the finalist films, the evening’s guests will be treated to a special showing of The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?, Thebaut’s definitive look at how the water crisis is affecting the American Southwest and its escalating economic toll. Supported by grants from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and other public and private entities, the film is narrated and hosted by Emmy® Award-winning actress Jane Seymour and will premiere this fall on PBS stations nationwide. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the film’s creator.
The film follows on the heels of Thebaut’s groundbreaking and critically acclaimed 2005 documentary, Running Dry, about the global water humanitarian crisis, and is the latest in an array of prominent socially significant productions by Thebaut that includes The Dirty Little Secret, a documentary on the sexual abuse of female children, and the highly rated and acclaimed Cable Ace Award nominated 1992 America Undercover documentary for HBO, "The Iceman Tapes - Conversations with a Killer."
Now open for submissions, The 2008 Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition is accepting all narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and/or student-made short films (1-10 minutes in actual or excerpted run time) that explore methods and ideas to responsibly manage and utilize earth’s most precious resource.
Filmmakers who submit their short films via the competition website www.iuowfilm.com on or before September 1, 2008 will have their films reviewed by the competition’s judging panel. The finalists will be invited to a special screening event at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden on October 11, 2008 in which Shalini Kantayya, director of the 2007 Audience Choice Award Winner, “A Drop of Life,” will serve as the evening’s master of ceremonies.
Following the screening of the finalists’ films, winners will be announced and awarded cash prizes of $6,000 for the Jury Award and $3,000 for the Audience Choice Award.
In addition to The Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition, Rain Bird devotes significant resources to its Intelligent Use of Water public education initiatives, which include The Intelligent Use of Water Award; bi-annual Intelligent Use of Water Summits; a series of white papers; public service announcements; membership on the Alliance for Water Efficiency and the steering committee advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its WaterSense product labeling program; partnerships with non-profit organizations; development and support of elementary and middle school curriculums; and participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade®, an annual worldwide stage to communicate the need for water conservation.