The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) announces the launch of “Short Film, Large Subject: The Holocaust Film Competition.” This is the organization’s first film contest, open to students currently enrolled in graduate-level film schools or recent graduates from accredited programs. The competition is open to entrants from around the world.

“Short Film, Large Subject: The Holocaust Film Competition” invites directors either currently enrolled in a graduate film program at an accredited university or who have successfully completed such a program no earlier than January 1, 2012, to submit a screenplay or documentary treatment for a short film about the Holocaust (the systematic persecution and murder of Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945) and/or the experiences of Jewish Holocaust victims. While the film can tell a fictional story, information relating to the Holocaust must be historically accurate.

The entry deadline is March 15, 2015. After being judged by a panel of Holocaust scholars and film industry professionals, selected entrants will proceed to the finalist round. The winner will receive a prize of $40,000 toward the production of a 20-minute short film about the Holocaust and/or survivors.

Information about the competition, rules and entry form are at filmcontest.claimscon.org.

Separate from the competition, the Claims Conference distributes grants for selected projects and programs of Holocaust education, documentation and research. Among recent grantee films is the theatrical release “No Place on Earth.” This work raises public awareness about the Holocaust and preserves the evidence of it; the funding of these projects will be even more critical when the eyewitnesses are gone. For more information, see www.claimscon.org/red.