SAN FRANCISCO (PRBuzz.com) December 14, 2012 — The Great American NO BULL Challenge today launches its second annual global short film and Public Service Announcement competition for teens promoting digital responsibility and anti-bullying. TV personality Steve Harvey has joined the campaign as one of the judges.
Middle and high school students, ages 13-18, are eligible to compete by submitting videos on digital responsibility to www.nobullchallenge.org.
Formats include: 2-5 minute short films, and 30-60 second PSA’s–all dealing with digital responsibility. For the first time, there is a category for foreign short films and PSA’s. Videos may be uploaded from December 14, 2012 to April 29, 2013.
Prizes will include a mentorship by Emmy Award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, video cameras, scholarships and a trip to the Sundance Film Festival, where the winning video will be submitted.
The NO BULL Challenge began as a fight against cyberbullying–a problem plaguing millions of teens and preteens. Today, it’s expanding to include other areas of digital responsibility, including: anti-bullying, online brand management, sexting awareness, and hate-speech awareness.
The NO BULL Challenge was founded by cyber safety expert and bestselling author, Shawn Edgington. “Our goal is to ensure that all middle and high school students from around the world have access to the NO BULL Challenge to help strengthen their digital responsibility skills using real life experiences, the power of their voice, and the magic of filmmaking,” commented Shawn Edgington.
Facebook and Twitter will play a key role in the 2013 campaign holding a teen “Hack-a-Vid”, next spring. Film industry experts, educators and social media experts will attend to offer advice to the young filmmakers for the creation of their PSA’s.
The public will vote on the videos in May and then a panel of experienced judges will determine winners from the top nominated videos. 2012 judges included Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Ann Shoket, Editor-In-Chief, Seventeen Magazine. Emmy award-winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, director of “BULLY” will return as a judge for the second year.
Zoe Oz, Nicole Edgington, Zack Veach, and Paige Logan continue in their roles as teen spokespeople for the NO BULL Challenge. Reformed bullies and 2012 NO BULL Nominees Scott Hannah and Tyler Gregory have joined the NO BULL’s National Spokespeople’s team for 2013.
About the Great American NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards:
The NO BULL Challenge and NO BULL Teen Video Awards promote digital responsibility, a positive school climate and social action using the power of music and filmmaking. The campaign’s national partners include, National Organization for Youth Safety, iSafe, FCCLA, 4-H, Bully The Movie and The Bully Project, HealthCorps, Project Change, Business Professionals of America, ADL, SADD, The California Endowment and GuestAssist Campus among others. The Great American NO BULL Challenge is a 501c3 organization.
About Shawn Edgington:
Shawn Edgington is the founder of the Great American NO BULL Challenge and the NO BULL Teen Video Awards. She is the President of the Cyber Safety Academy and the CEO of a national insurance company. A leading cyber-safety expert, Shawn is the author of the best selling book, “The Parent’s Guide to Texting, Facebook and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in the Digital World.”