This local short-film competition and screening aims to raise awareness of the importance and perils of water as it makes the journey from storm to stream.

Michigan's water system is a vast and interconnected cycle, from raindrop to trickling stream, and large river to the mighty Great Lakes. Deeply intertwined within this water cycle are people, places, and our heritage.

Faced with the burden of legacy pollution and new emerging threats to freshwater, it is more important then ever to share our stories. We have a unique opportunity and deep obligation to protect and celebrate the resource that sustains our sense of adventure, our identity, and our very existence.

Suggested themes: Conservation, Recreation, Adventure, Pollution, Water Cycle, Heritage, Innovation

Prizes will be awarded for the judges favorites in the categories of youth, amateur and professional and local filmmakers - four prizes total.

- Film Length: 3 - 10 minutes

- Teams or individual entries

- It is our intent to feature all entries as part of a telecast schedule, on our community television cable channels until the end of calendar year, 2017. By submitting your film/video to Connecting the Drops, you are acknowledging and accepting this as a condition of entry. Public Media Network will derive no revenue or income from the telecast from the entires, and no royalty or remuneration will be provided to the producer for such telecast.

- Submission/award categories:
1) Youth Submissions (age 17 years and younger as of 9/1/2017);
2) Amateur Submissions (age 18 years and older as of 9/1/2017; no part of your annual income generate from film);
3) Professional Submissions (age 18 years and older as of 9/1/2017; 51% of your annual income generated from film)

- Submission Deadline: July 31, 2017

- Cost: $5.00/submission