* Filmmakers Called to Create Video Awareness for Cooley's Anemia, Grand Prize Includes $5,000 and Panasonic P2 HD Camcorder Package

Today, Panasonic Broadcast in conjunction with leading professional film and video reseller Abel Cine Tech announced its Filmmakers Grant Program called “P2 for a Cause.” The program, intended to foster activism in the professional film and video community, will support the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation’s (CAF) effort to raise awareness of Cooley’s Anemia, also known as thalassemia.
Thalassemia is a fatal genetic blood disorder that disproportionately affects people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Northern African, Chinese, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Caribbean descent.

Children born with the most severe form of thalassemia require lifelong blood transfusions as often as every two weeks, making them the single largest consumers of blood products in the country.

The “P2 for a Cause” program targets filmmakers whose submitted project treatments promise to be the most compelling, relevant and creative at promoting awareness of thalassemia among both at-risk populations and the general public.

Five grant winners will be selected to receive — courtesy of program sponsors Panasonic Broadcast, Abel Cine Tech and CAF— the use of a full Panasonic P2 HD camera package, including an AG-HPX500 P2 HD camcorder, Fujinon lens, four 16GB P2 Cards, an AG-HPG10 P2 Gear, and $2,000 towards production costs to create a three- to six-minute, documentary-style video. One grand prize winner will be selected to receive an equipment/cash award valued at $10,500 (including $5,000 and a P2 HD equipment package consisting of an AG-HVX200 P2 HD camcorder and two 16GB P2 cards).

“We are pleased to work with Abel Cine Tech and the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation to encourage filmmakers to use their talents to promote this outstanding cause,” said Jan Crittenden Livingston, Product Line Business Manager, Panasonic Broadcast. “In addition to promoting the spirit of independent filmmaking, the ‘P2 for a Cause’ Digital Filmmakers Grant Program offers filmmakers a chance to create content that makes a difference and benefits a special cause.”

The completed projects will become part of the overall CAF 2008 marketing strategy and will be displayed prominently on the Foundation’s website (www.cooleysanemia.org), utilized as a cornerstone of a viral awareness campaign, and made available to chapters and affiliated organizations for use at fundraising events and educational meetings. In addition, the Foundation will select up to three entries to showcase at an exclusive launch event in Manhattan, which will both raise funds for thalassemia-related programs and focus attention on the selected entries.

Technical and production expertise for the “P2 for a Cause” program will be provided by Abel Cine Tech, including operational training on the HPX500. Equipment will be procured out of Abel’s New York City or Burbank, CA locations. Additional equipment for projects can be rented from Abel Cine Tech.

To Enter
To enter the “P2 for a Cause” program, interested filmmakers must submit an application form with a completed treatment for their project idea. The focus of each project must be related in some way to thalassemia, but need not be a general “big picture” overview of the entire disorder. Projects can cover topics ranging from treatment therapies, advances in gene therapy, a day in the life of a thalassemia patient or the importance of keeping an adequate blood supply.

To obtain an application or for complete rules, visit www.panasonic.com/P2foraCause or www.cooleysanemia.org/p2. Applications are being accepted now through January 10, 2008. Filmmakers whose treatments are selected will be notified by January 31, 2008. Grantees will be required to submit a completed script (or storyboard) to Cooley’s Anemia Foundation for review by March 31, 2008. Projects must be initiated by May 31, 2008, with a completed project due by September 1, 2008.