SONY PICTURES TELEVISION NETWORKS ANNOUNCE INTERNATIONAL PICTURE THIS FESTIVAL FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

CULVER CITY, CALIF (June 13, 2016)--Sony Pictures Television’s Networks today announced the Picture This Festival for the Environment, celebrating the stories of hope and progress in the protection and preservation of the environment.   The Festival will curate short videos, 30 seconds to 7 minutes, from contests held by their networks around the world and select a grand prize winner at an all-day event at the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles this Fall.

 “Building upon the efforts of our networks around the world, which have encouraged their audiences to help improve the environment, we are now inviting creators everywhere to tell the stories of a better world, because the best stories are more than entertaining, they also motivate people to action,”  said Andy Kaplan, president, worldwide networks for Sony Pictures Television.

The PictureThisFestival aims to share the stories, big and small, of successful endeavors or actions that could lead to a better, environmentally sound world. Eight participating network groups will accept entries from countries in their territories which will be judged by a respected panel of local dignitaries and experts. The regional winner in each territory will be flown to Los Angele, courtesy of American Airlines, for a day of events and a Hollywood screening on the Sony Pictures lot in October, when a global winner will be announced. Winners will be chosen based on the power of their storytelling and their illustration of the Picture This campaign: Picture a Better World.

The grand prize winner will receive $5,000 as well as a Sony 4K package including a 55” 4K TV and a Sony - Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Camera, courtesy of Sony Electronics.

As the preferred airline of the entertainment industry, American Airlines is the official airline sponsor of the Picture This Festival.  www.aa.com

Sony Electronics is the Festival’s technology sponsor.   www.sony.com

Accommodations will be provided by the W Hotel Los Angeles – Westwood.  www.starwoodhotels.com

Participating regions include the UK, Spain and Portugal, Russia, Central Europe (Poland, Romania and Hungary), South Africa, Latin America, Asia and the US.   Contest dates are as follows, by territory:

  • United Kingdom: June 13
  • Spain and Portugal:  June 21
  • Russia: June 27
  • South Africa: July 4
  • Latin America: July 4
  • United States: July 18*
  • Asia:  August 1
  • Central Europe (Poland, Romania, Hungary): August 1

To enter, please visit your local AXN or Sony Channel website, where the official rules are also posted. In the U.S., entries will be taken through Crackle.com.*

The Picture This campaign was launched in September 2015 by SPT’s 45 networks to inspire viewers to protect and improve the environment through localized promotion and events, supporting local efforts on behalf of regionally relevant issues.  In March 2016, SPT created the Picture This mobile app for iOS and Android devices, to encourage mobile storytelling.  For more on Picture This, visit www.sptpicturethis.com.

Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry’s leading content providers, producing and distributing programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. In addition to its US production business, SPT has 17 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 13 countries and also maintains offices in 31 countries. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio includes 150 channel feeds available in 178 countries, reaching more than 1.3 billion cumulative households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages the studio’s premium streaming network, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns US production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of the cable channel Game Show Network (GSN).  SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as the Rural Media Group and DoctorOZ.com.