Jun 4, 2008 6:04 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

New York officials are searching for filmmakers of all backgrounds to create videos explaining why they love the state in a short film competition.

People can submit 60-second videos for the “I Love NY Short Film Competition” to http://www.iloveny.com through July 15 for a chance to have their footage aired as part of a commercial during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast. To enter, residents and visitors can film a variety of sites, sounds and destinations they hold dear in the state.

Submissions will be judged based on the ability to showcase the beauty and geography of New York, how well the film highlights unique features of off-beat places and on originality, creativity and overall impression.

Empire State Development, a state agency that provides assistance and service to businesses to help build the local economy, is hosting the competition. The goal? To raise awareness of New York as a world-class vacation destination.

“We want to celebrate what New York has to offer,” Pat Kaufman, deputy commissioner for department of economic development, said who also is executive director of the New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and Television Development. “We want to give New Yorkers and other people the chance to demonstrate their creativity in filmmaking.”

A panel of judges, which includes actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tina Fey, will select 10 winners. In addition to having the winning film aired on national TV, the grand-prize winner’s clip will also be shown on seatback TVs on JetBlue Airways and on the Independent Film Channel. The prize package also includes a Sony camcorder, a scholarship to professional film workshops and a weekend get-away.

Other weekend get-away trips will be awarded to six regional winners and winners of the student filmmaker, young filmmaker and the viewers’ choice categories, which The New York Post is sponsoring. Winners will also receive tickets to an opening night film festival in New York, Kaufman said.

Empire State Development is also using the competition, in part, to generate new images for its ongoing “I Love NY” campaign, said Seth Webb, a director at Civic Entertainment Group, which is handling the competition.

Print and online ads supporting the competition will run in The New York Post through July. JetBlue will promote the effort on seatback TVs on all of its flights this month. New York-area universities will also send out e-mails and electronic flyers to students. Film commissions, chambers of commerce and area visitors’ bureaus will also help spread the word.

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