Film contest centers on Muslim life in U.S.

An online film contest boasting celebrity judges, including actor Danny Glover and Mariane Pearl, is calling for entries that tell of the American Muslim experience.

The “One Nation, Many Voices” competition started taking submissions Tuesday of films lasting five minutes or less. The winner will be awarded a $20,000 cash prize as well as a debut on Link TV.

“For all of us living in the U.S., there’s certainly more that unites us than separates us,” said Kim Spencer, president of the news and culture satellite channel.

Link TV is sponsoring the competition along with One Nation, which seeks to use the media to challenge stereotypes of Muslims.

Categories include drama, comedy, documentary, and animation/music. There also are separate categories for films of one minute or less and videos produced by youth.

Entries must be submitted by Nov. 25. Viewers have until Nov. 30 to vote online to select the finalists, which then will be evaluated by a panel of judges.

For more information, see www.linktv.org/onenation.

Pearl is the widow of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists while reporting for the Wall Street Journal in Pakistan in 2002.