BURBANK, Calif. – June 5, 2008 – As part of its ongoing commitment to discover diverse voices both behind and in front of the camera, NBC Universal is currently accepting submissions for its Third Annual Comedy Short Cuts Film Festival. The film festival is a showcase of short, comedic films with culturally diverse production teams, casts, or themes. The deadline for submissions is August 22, 2008.

”Our Comedy Shorts Festival has continued to serve as a pipeline for a variety of NBC Universal divisions for discovering and developing diverse talent,” said Kendra Carter, Director, Talent Diversity Initiatives, NBC Universal.
Semi-finalist’s films will be screened before an industry audience in New York in September in conjunction with the New York Television Festival. Finalists will be sent to Los Angeles for an exclusive industry screening in October at Universal Studios.

The winning filmmaker will have the opportunity to meet with NBC Universal’s top network, studio, cable, and film executives to pitch their projects and ideas. Additional prizes and opportunities are soon to be announced.
At last year’s festival, the film "A Fat Girl’s Guide To Yoga" captured top honors and a blind script commitment with Universal Media Studios. Tajamika Paxton, former film executive at MTV Films and Gregory M.T. Colleton, the writing/directing team created the comical short about Wendy, an oversized African-American woman, and her yoga journey to lose weight.
Further information including a complete list of partners and prizes from our 2007 festival can be found at the Comedy Short Cuts Web site: www.comedyshortcuts.net