For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
FILMMAKERS
INVITED TO ENTER CONTEST TO CREATE TV SPOT
AIMED AT INCREASING HIV/AIDS AWARENESS
Los Angeles, CA, August 3, 2004 – Organizers of the 20th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, the world’s first AIDS Walk, are calling on amateur filmmakers around the country to submit their best work for the chance to produce a 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) for television.
HIVisual: Focus on the Epidemic invites aspiring filmmakers to find creative ways to encourage participation in the 20th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, set for October 17, 2004. Entries will be judged by a panel of well-known film and television industry personalities, producers and directors. The winning submission will air on a major broadcast network as part of the AIDS Walk PSA line-up in the Los Angeles market. Original material will be accepted now through the contest’s September 7, 2004 deadline.
Producers of AIDS Walk Los Angeles hope the contest will both generate innovative PSAs and increase dialogue about HIV/AIDS. In the US, more than 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year.
“Los Angeles is home of the first AIDS Walk, and home of the film and television industry,” said Craig Thompson, Executive Director of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). “This contest is a great way to link new writers and directors to a cause that needs their energy and skills now.”
The 10-kilometer AIDS Walk Los Angeles will begin and end in West Hollywood on Sunday, October 17. Last year, 25,000 people raised more than $2.6 million dollars for programs and services at APLA and other HIV/AIDS organizations across Los Angeles County. APLA held the world's first AIDS Walk on July 28, 1985. The event has since raised more than $46 million for AIDS Project Los Angeles and other local AIDS organizations.
For more information, downloadable forms, promotional materials and contest rules for HIVisual: Focus on the Epidemic, visit www.aidswalk.net.
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the nation’s largest AIDS service organizations, provides bilingual direct services to more than 6,100 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County each year. Services include prevention education, food banks and nutrition education, professional dental care, mental health counseling, housing and transportation assistance, information and referral services, case management and home health care. APLA is a leader in the development of HIV prevention programs, and helps shape fair and effective HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation in response to the local, national and international epidemics.
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