March 6, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
AARP has announced the winners of its U@50 contest, which challenged young people to create a short video of what they expect their lives to be like at age 50. The top five videos earned cash awards, with the best videomaker receiving $5,000.
“The aim of this contest was to create a dialogue between the generations and to gain an understanding of what concerns our future members,” according to Harry R. Moody, AARP’s director of academic affairs.
The contest spurred more than 50 submissions from filmmakers age 18 to 30. Winners were selected based on their technical quality, creativity, and ability to foster discussion.
The first-place video, submitted by Ilya Polyakov, a film-studies major at Emerson College, in Boston, was entitled “When I’m 50.”
“It’s such a big world, almost too big,” the narrator says as the video begins. “Right now in college, I look around and I think about all the infinite possibilities, and I worry what is it that I want.”
Over a montage of city scenes — skyscrapers, taxis, and children playing at a park — the narrator muses about her hope to be successful and to have a house and a family, and she talks about her desire to make the world a better place.
“When I’m 50, I’ll still be dreaming,” the narrator says as the video comes to a close.
To watch the winning videos: Go to http://www.youtube.com/Uat50.
