Today (Friday, March 2nd, 2012), Mozilla (the company behind the well-known browser Firefox), announced on their blog that they would be kicking off a new contest called Firefox Flicks. This contest is open to the public, and allows submitters to publish videos on the newly created Firefox Flicks website conveying the issues/debates of online piracy and security.

The Firefox Flicks contest is not just any old contest. All of the videos that are submitted are judged by a diverse panel of well-known and prestigious Hollywood filmmakers, such as:

• Edward Norton – Known for his roles in Primal Fear, Fight Club, Frida, and The Incredible Hulk. Norton is also a social and environmental activist, and recently founded CrowdRise, an innovative new web platform that brings the power of crowd-sourcing and the fun of social networking to fundraising and volunteerism.
• Shauna Robertson – Producer of Meet the Parents, Elf, Anchorman, and The Forty Year Old Virgin. Last year, Robertson left the movie business to pursue her dreams of working in the non-profit sector.
• Couper Samuelson – Paramount producer of Destination Wedding and co-producer of Two Lovers, We Own The Night, and The Ex. Samuelson began his career as an assistant in the Motion Picture Department of the Creative Artists Agency.

The winners of the Firefox Flicks contest will win the following prizes as decided by the Hollywood panel:

• Grand Prize Winners: A grand prize winner from each of the four regions (US & Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia) will receive $10,000 USD.
• Category Winners: In each of the regions, a winner will be selected from each of the four categories. (Best 30 second spot, Best Animation, Best Public Service Announcement, Best Use of New Open Technology) . Each of these winners will receive $5,000 USD.
• Category Runners Up: In each of the regions, a category runner up from each of the four categories listed above will receive $1,000 USD.

Plus, the first 1,000 qualified entrants will receive a limited edition Firefox Flicks prize pack, including: exclusive t-shirts, stickers, pens, notebooks, and more.

To give you some ideas of what Mozilla is looking for in this competition, I have provided a few examples from Mozilla below (based on common contemporary themes).

For more information, including submission guidelines and categories, and to how to enter, be sure to visit FirefoxFlicks.com.