CANON U.S.A., ron howard and bryce dallas howard ANNOUNCE “PROJECT IMAGINAT10n” Film CONTEST where FIVE CONSUMer-Directed FILMS will premiere at the “project imaginat10n” film Festival in Fall 2013
Now the Public Can Select 10 of the Winning Photos from Project Imaginat10n to Inspire Short Films, the same Creative Exercise as Eva Longoria, Jamie Foxx, James Murphy, Georgina Chapman and Biz Stone
MELVILLE, N.Y., April 25, 2013 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today the “Project Imaginat10n” Film Contest, which will provide the public with a unique opportunity to showcase their creativity and storytelling abilities by taking a seat in the director’s chair.
Helmed by Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard, filmmakers of all skill levels will each have the chance to embark on the same creative exercise as five celebrity directors – Eva Longoria (film and TV actress), Jamie Foxx (Academy Award® winner), Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter), Georgina Chapman (designer and co-founder of Marchesa) and James Murphy (founder of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM) – all of whom are directing short films inspired from ten Project Imaginat10n winning photographs.
Selecting from the same pool of 91 winning photos, the challenge is to create a short film inspired by ten crowdsourced photos and based on ten storytelling themes: Character, Mood, Goal, Backstory, Setting, Obstacle, Relationship, The Unknown, Time and Discovery. The Discovery photo will be the same in each film, “Discovering limits,” as selected by Ron Howard as a thematic tie. All 91 photos can be seen at imagination.usa.canon.com.
In 2011, Bryce Dallas Howard took part in a similar creative endeavor, “Project Imagin8ion,” where she was mentored by her father, Ron Howard, to create a short film inspired by photographs. After selecting eight winning photos, Bryce directed “when you find me,” an award-winning film about two sisters whose childhood bond is tested by a tragedy they are too young to understand.
As the first “graduating” director of the Project Imagin8ion experiment, Bryce will utilize her experience from “when you find me,” to act as a mentor for other filmmakers – speaking at select film schools and revealing her tips in an online webisode series, “Bryce’s Project Imaginat10n Film Contest Tutorial.”
“Directing ‘when you find me’ was one of the most creatively rewarding endeavors of my career. In addition to the amazing experience of being mentored by my dad, the chance to collaborate with such a vast community of artists and photographers was game changing and challenged the very paradigm of the filmmaking I had grown accustomed to,” said Bryce Dallas Howard. “My hope for the Project Imaginat10n film contest is that aspiring filmmakers will feel empowered to showcase their work and explore their own creativity. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to engage with the filmmakers and support them as they embark on this powerful odyssey into creativity and collaboration.”
Submissions will begin on June 4, 2013 at imagination.usa.canon.com (see Official Rules for details). A panel of judges will select twenty finalist films based on overall technical quality, originality, use of imagination and impression. Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron Howard will then select the final five winning films and package them with the five celebrity-directed films as “A Ron Howard Presentation.” All ten films will be showcased at Canon’s Project Imaginat10n Film Festival in fall 2013.
About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With approximately $40 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents registered in 2012† and is one of Fortune Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies in 2013. In 2012, Canon U.S.A. has received the PCMag.com Readers’ Choice Award for Service and Reliability in the digital camera and printer categories for the ninth consecutive year, and for camcorders for the past two years. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss.
ABOUT RON HOWARD
Ronald William “Ron” Howard is an American actor, director and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later as the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom “Happy Days” for six years. He made film appearances in “American Graffiti” in 1973 and, while starring in “Happy Days,” he also made “The Shootist” in 1976, as well as making his directorial debut with the 1977 comedy film “Grand Theft Auto.” He left “Happy Days” in 1980 to focus on directing, and has since gone on to direct several films, including the Oscar®-winning “Cocoon,” “Apollo 13,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Ron won the Academy Award® for “A Beautiful Mind” as the director and also producer of the film. In 2003, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
ABOUT BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD
Bryce Dallas Howard has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most versatile and dynamic young talents both on screen and behind the camera. The actress most recently starred as the villainous “Hilly” in Tate Taylor’s big screen adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel “The Help”. Other recent films include “50/50,” Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Spider-Man 3,” and “Terminator: Salvation.” Her breakout role was starring in M. Night Shyamalan's “The Village” and she earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Kenneth Branagh's “As You Like It.” Expanding her creative reach beyond acting, Howard produced Gus Van Sant’s “Restless.” She is the founder and owner of the production company Nine Muses Entertainment under which she currently has several projects in development. Howard made her 2006 directorial debut with the short film “Orchids.” In 2011, she directed the experimental collaborative short film “when you find me” presented by Canon. Most recently, Howard directed one of five short films included in The Lifetime Original Movie event “Call Me Crazy: A Five Film.” The anthology, from a team of executive producers including Jennifer Aniston, features five interwoven stories about mental illness.
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