Vimeo and I go way back, as I wrote a positive review of their service early enough in the game to be quoted on their front page for a while (this would never happen now, as they don't need the help!). Their service has evolved tremendously since then, and now for the first time they're running an awards competition with a $25,000 grand prize. Here's my college classmate Blake Whitman with the announcement:
This being the first year of the the Festival and Awards, we are going all out. We have secured awesome judges to evaluate your work in a variety of categories and a jam-packed two day festival of events and education to let everyone join in on the fun. An Awards show will culminate the Festival in an entertaining evening of celebration, honoring the individual category winners. Award winners will be heavily promoted on Vimeo and the winner of the Best Video award across all categories will win a $25,000 grant to produce new work as well. That's a lot of moolah, because we're committed to supporting the creative community, and want to do our part to enable exciting new artists.
I have a few questions about the contest -- namely, will there category-specific awards, or just the winner-takes-all $25k prize? -- but it's definitely going to be a good time (not to mention the festival component, which takes place here in NYC October 8-9). Submit your video here or nominate someone else's. $20 entry fee for general public and $5 for Vimeo Plus users; submissions are open until July 30.
Here's one of their many promo videos:
