Calling all teens! Would you like to enter a movie contest? The Maine Outdoor Youth Movie Festival is calling for submissions of Short Movies from Maine residents 19 and younger that address the question: “Why Being Outdoor Matters.”

This event is being organized as part of Maine’s “Take It Outside” program to encourage families to develop a connection with nature in Maine’s great outdoors. The Movie Festival will recognize the short movies that best capture the outdoor experience in Maine and the connection between people and the environment.

The short movies must be 10 minutes in length or less and must be submitted by September 19, 2008.

The submission format may be either via YouTube link or by digital DVD. Email YouTube links to bwentzell@outdoors.org and mail entry form and DVD submissions to Bryan Wentzell, Appalachian Mountain Club, 14 Maine Street, Box 57, Brunswick, ME 04011.

Winning movies will be shown at the Governor’s Conference on Youth and the Natural World on October 2, 2008 at the Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. All selected entries will become part of the Maine Outdoor Youth Movie Festival and available for public showings. Interested parties can contact Carol Leone of Teens To Trails (teens2trails@gwi.net) to arrange a local showing in your town or school.

For more information, download a Submission Form (pdf).