Madrid "Dares" Students to Create Tourism Films

The Madrid Tourism Board has announced the names of five New York University film students who will have six days to create short films that capture their first impressions of the region of Madrid. The students have earned the chance to share their vision with the world in a whirlwind short film competition launched by the Madrid board of tourism called "Madrid Dares You."

The five students, Fred Guerrier, Mykwain Gainey, Neil Orman, Rashaad Ernesto Green, and Marie Dvorakova, were selected among a group of Kanbar Institute of Film and TV students currently carrying out their thesis at the world-renowned Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. The students will leave for Madrid on October 22 and, upon arrival, will have only 72 hours to conceive and shoot the films and 72 hours to edit them before returning to New York.

The winning film, which will be selected by a panel of jurists that includes critically-acclaimed independent Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia, would be used in Turismo Madrid's upcoming advertising and media relations campaign in the US, including presentation to different film festivals and private viewings at collaborating institutions. The creator of the winning film, which will be announced in New York on November 19, will also receive a prize of $4,400.

Each filmmaker will be assigned one of five subjects to cover: People, Culture, Food & Dining, Nightlife, and Fashion & Luxury. The films will be shot on high definition video, and filmmakers will be given video stock and have access to a small crew and editing equipment. Completed films will run between eight and ten minutes long. Each participant will hand over their completed films in Madrid on October 30 and meet with the media to speak of their fast-paced filming experience. Upon termination, each one of the films would be sent for review by a panel of judges, presided by Alex de la Iglesia, of leading Madrid and New York based influencers including Enrique Sarasola, Javier Fesser, Ferrán Adriá, Paco Roncero, José Castro, Alma Aguilar, Miguel Palacio and Elvira Lindo.

The final winning film would be presented in an exclusive media event in New York at the Room Mate Grace on November 19.