IndependentFilm.com

FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE academic partners include the leading organizations of higher education: The Association of American Colleges and Universities, The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (The American Democracy Project), The American Association of University Professors, Campus Compact and Imagining America.

Round 1 finalists focused on a judicial injustice case in Illinois, media accountability on the coverage of Iraq, widespread poverty, gay marriage, and education budget cuts, as follows: "The Innocence," on Judicial Injustice, Illinois State University; "Animated IRAQ" on Media Accountability in Iraq, Boise State University; "A Way of Life," on Poverty, University of Central Florida; "Equal Rights," on Gay Marriage, Castleton State College; "The Slasher," on Education Budget Cuts, University of Wisconsin - Stout.

The top 20 finalists in the category of Global Issues/ UN Millennium Development Goals will be screened at a panel at UN Headquarters, co-hosted by USA TODAY. The top 20 finalists in the category of Arts as Global Diplomat and Cultural Bridge will be presented to opinion makers and public officials in Washington D.C., co-hosted by USC Center for Public Diplomacy. Top finalists in the category of Animal Welfare will be posted on the website of The Humane Society of the United States. Top finalists in the category of Integration of Film and New Media, in partnership with MSN Spaces, will receive an additional prize.

FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE ROSTER

FOUNDER
HeathCliff Rothman -- Journalist/ Social Entrepreneur

DISTINGUISHED JURIST
Walter Cronkite -- News Anchor/ Journalist/ Author

VIP JURY
Jonathan Alter -- Newsweek / NBC
Brad Anderson -- Vice Chairman and CEO, Best Buy Co., Inc
Kurt Andersen -- Novelist / Journalist
Ben Bradlee -- VP at Large, The Washington Post
George Clooney -- Actor/ Director/ Producer
Lyor Cohen -- Chairman and CEO, U.S. Recorded Music, Warner Music Group
Dick Cook -- Chairman, The Walt Disney Company
Anderson Cooper -- CNN/ Anderson Cooper 360
Mark Cuban -- HDNet / Landmark Theatres / Magnolia Pictures / Dallas Mavericks
Amy Gross -- Editor in Chief, O Oprah Magazine
Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Actor
Nicholas Kristof -- Political Op-ed Columnist, The New York Times
Robert Lynch -- President and CEO, Americans for the Arts
Ron Meyer -- Universal Studios President and COO
Craig Moon -- President and Publisher, USA TODAY
Barack Obama-- Senator, Illinois (D)
Wayne Pacelle -- President and CEO, The Humane Society of the United States
Mercedes Paz -- The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
Richard Pena -- Chairman, New York Film Festival Selection Committee
Tom Rothman -- Chairman, Fox Filmed Entertainment
Gillian Sorensen -- Former Ass't Secretary-General, United Nations; Senior Advisor, UN Foundation
Shashi Tharoor -- Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, UN
Van Toffler -- President, MTV Networks Music / Logo/ Films Group
Antonio Villaraigosa -- Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Todd Wagner -- HDNet Films / Landmark Theatres / 2929 Productions / Todd Wagner Foundation
Brian Williams -- Anchor and Managing Editor, NBC Nightly News

ADVISORY THINKTANK
Michael Barlow -- Paramount Classics
Harold Bronson-- Co-founder, Rhino Entertainment
Kimberly Shlain Brooks -- President, Lightray Productions
Dana Brunetti -- President, Trigger Street Productions
Ken Dozier -- Exec. Dir., Western Research Application Center Viterbi School of Engineering USC
Joshua Fouts -- Executive Director, USC Center for Public Diplomacy
Stephen Nemeth -- President, Rhino Films
Michael Oppenheimer -- Professor, Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton University
Sara Risher -- Producer, New Line Cinema
Barry Rivers -- Founder and Director, Maui Film Festival
Eric Roth -- Executive VP, Co-Head of Business & Legal Affairs, The Weinstein Company
Robert Rosen -- Dean, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Bruce Royer -- President, Royer Studios
Michelle Satter -- Director, Feature Film Program at The Sundance Institute
Kathi Sharpe-Ross -- President, The Sharpe Alliance
John Solomon -- Producer, Walt Disney Television Animation Shorts
John Tarnoff -- Senior Executive, Dreamworks Animation SKG
Marc Von Arx -- Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
Geoff Wells -- CIO and Vice President, Fox Television Group
Daphna Ziman -- Founder and Chairperson, Children Uniting Nations

Source: FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE

Web site: http://www.filmyourissue.org/