The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the organisers of the 14th Beijing Student Film Festival (BSFF) are sponsoring a China-wide contest to select the best student-made short film on the theme 'Respect Copyrights, Stay Away from Piracy'.

The contest will challenge students to take a fresh look at the value of intellectual property to society and to individuals. The students who produce the best one-minute live-action or animation short film will win a trip to Hollywood to visit MPA member company studios.

'Our partnership with the Beijing Student Film Festival represents a significant opportunity to reach out to China 's 20 million university students, to give them an opportunity to think about the importance of copyright and the value of creative works,' said Mike Ellis, MPA senior vice president & regional director, Asia-Pacific.

According to MPA research, the piracy rate for movies in China is estimated at 93 per cent.

The 14th edition of the festival will be held April 7-28 and feature short film competitions in three categories: DV shorts, animation shorts and mobile phone shorts. BSFF organisers are now calling for entries. The deadline for submitting the short films is March 15.

Founded in 1993, the BSFF was initiated by Beijing Normal University and Beijing City Radio, TV and Film Bureau. Held annually in April, the festival has drawn more than one million university students in the past 13 years. The awards ceremony attracts on average 30 million TV viewers across the country. Last year the short film competition received more than 300 submissions.

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