Verizon and Asian CineVision Select Five Finalists for First-Ever V-Clip National Competition

Verizon and Asian CineVision Select Five Finalists for First-Ever V-Clip National Competition

Grand-Prize Winner to Be Announced July 21 in NYC

NEW YORK, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Five Finalists have been selected for the first-ever V-Clip National Competition at the N.Y. Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), produced by Asian CineVision. Judges from Verizon and ACV based their decision on creativity, originality, successful incorporation of the Verizon logo, and how the V-Clip highlights or celebrates the Asian-American film experience, or both. The following V-Clips were selected:

* "Between," directed by Pei-Lin Kuo, illustrates the various roles of
Asian-Americans in society by dressing and redressing a paper doll.

* "Relationship with Reality," directed by Fae Yamaguchi, uses clay
puppets to ask the question, "How is your relationship with reality?"

* "Second Chance for a Last Goodbye," directed by Peter Phan Long Cuu,
uses film as a tool to replace a regretful memory.

* "Stella's Debut," directed by Kevin B. Lee, shows how making movies with
Verizon Wireless camera phones is really child's play.

* "Verizzzon," by Cheryl Tsai, shows two brothers at home eating a special
treat.

These finalists had the honor of opening select AAIFF films with their V-Clip submissions this past week. A grand-prize winner and two runners-up will be announced at the AAIFF closing night award ceremony tomorrow (July 21) at the Asia Society. The grand-prize winner and runners-up will receive prizes consisting of the latest in digital entertainment including a flat screen TV, 6.0 megapixel digital cameras and video MP3 players.

The V-Clip Competition is an entertaining experience for both moviegoers and moviemakers attending the AAIFF. V-Clip finalists, aspiring filmmakers and story tellers, from California, Hawaii and New York, celebrated the spirit of the Asian-American film experience with their 15-second video clips. Each V-Clip was required to cleverly and creatively incorporate the full Verizon logo, including the check mark and the word Verizon, as part of the clip for at least one second. Verizon is the Platinum and leading sponsor of the AAIFF.

AAIFF, also known as "The First Home to Asian-American Cinema," is the nation's premier festival dedicated to screening works by media artists of Asian descent and, 26 years after its founding, continues to be a leading showcase for Asian-American film and video. Films began screening in New York from the start of the film festival on July 13 through July 21, with an encore presentation in Long Island, from August 3-6.

For more information about the AAIFF and details about the V-Clip National Competition, visit www.asiancinevision.org.

Over the years, Verizon has been a strong supporter of Asian communities around the country, a role exemplified further by Verizon's recent sponsorship of the Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Media, Ellen Yu of Verizon, +1-908-559-3496,
ellen.yu@verizon.com; or John Lee of AdAsia, +1-212-871-6886 ext. 106,
jlee@adasia-us.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.asiancinevision.org/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

NOTE TO EDITORS: Reporters are invited to attend tomorrow evening's event at the Asia Society, 725 Park Ave., at 70th Street, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Contact Ellen Yu at 908-616-7844

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