FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2015

LOS ANGELES – Today, CreativeFuture announced the winners of the Contribute to Creativity VidCon Video Contest. The contest was launched last month in partnership with Maker Studios and top YouTube stars and was designed to encourage aspiring creatives to showcase their talents and get them thinking about the connection between the value placed on creativity and their own creative careers. A distinguished list of creatives judged the top videos and selected the winners from more than 200 submissions.

The Grand Prize winner, Vincent Dhan of Aurora, Illinois, made a video featuring his personal story of devotion to creativity – including hours spent practicing sketching, animation, and martial arts. For his Grand Prize, Dhan will receive a $1,000 cash prize and an all-expense paid trip to VidCon 2015 in Anaheim, CA.

“This is truly a blessing and milestone in my life,” said Dhan. “I want to contribute my talents as a filmmaker and artist to tell stories. My goal is to bring new perspectives and add something meaningful to humanity.”

“Vincent’s video captures his enthusiasm for creativity,” said Ruth Vitale, CEO of CreativeFuture. “That’s what this contest is about – giving new artists a platform to showcase their talents and encouraging them to pursue a career in a creative field.”

The contest ran from June 8 to June 23, and was launched with the help of YouTube stars The Fung Bros., Michael Gallagher, Sam Macaroni, Steve-O, and Taryn Southern. Each invited their fans to join the contest by submitting short videos showcasing their creative talents. They also encouraged their fans to consider the connection between the value placed on creativity and their own creative careers.

The First Prize winner is Joseph Krulock, whose video includes a disorienting dream sequence with creative use of distorted audio and visual elements. Krulock won a one-year subscription to Adobe Complete Creative Cloud.

“It feels great to have placed in this contest especially because it is the first contest I have ever entered,” said Krulock. “It fuels confidence in me to continue to grow in my work.”

The Second Prize winner, Abraham Kalaoun, whose video featured an intimate portrayal of a day in the life of a mechanic, won a GoPro camera and memory stick.

“My dream is to be a filmmaker,” said Kalaoun. “I try to be sincere in how I portray the world – I want people to feel it how I feel it. When you’re watching a film of mine, I just want you to feel like you’ve met the characters, known them, and if not loved them, then at least understood them for that tiny splice of their life.”

“I was tremendously impressed by the variety and depth of the pieces submitted,” said Kasi Lemmons (Silence of the Lambs, Candyman, Eve’s Bayou), who served as one of the contest judges. “The films showed both economy and scope.  It’s difficult to be limited to 75 seconds, but the imagination of these filmmakers was boundless.”

“This contest was a great opportunity for young creatives like Vincent to showcase their talents,” said Alec Berg (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Silicon Valley), “and it was an opportunity for those of us in the creative industries to offer affirmation and to see firsthand who will be taking our jobs and driving us from the business in the near future.”

And the winner is… Vincent Dhan has won @CreativeFuture’s #ContributetoCreativity @VidCon Video Contest! – http://t.co/k0slYOSBdX

— CreativeFuture (@CreativeFuture) July 8, 2015

The contest was judged by a panel of creative industry veterans and rising stars that includes Tobin Armbrust (Begin Again, Rush, The Way Back); Alec Berg (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Silicon Valley); Marty Bowen (Twilight Saga, The Fault in Our Stars, Maze Runner); Arturo Castro (Broad City); Wyck Godfrey (Twilight Saga, The Fault in Our Stars, Maze Runner); Kasi Lemmons (Silence of the Lambs, Candyman, Eve’s Bayou); Franklin Leonard (The Blacklist); Rena Ronson (United Talent Agency); Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy, Bastard Executioner); Ryan Turek (Blumhouse Productions); and Ruth Vitale (CreativeFuture).

For more information about the Contribute to Creativity VidCon Video Contest, please visit: http://www.contributetocreativitycontest.com

###

About CreativeFuture

CreativeFuture is a coalition made up of more than 400 companies and organizations – encompassing film, television, music, and book publishing – that promotes the value of creativity, expanded digital access to legitimate content, and the fundamental right of creatives to determine how their works are distributed. www.CreativeFuture.org.

Contact:
Chris Ortman
Press@CreativeFuture.org
323-591-3000