Tim Leaton, a senior at Virginia Tech, films several students at the Canann Orphanage in Uganda. His footage of the children, which was made into a short film entitled “Orphans in Africa,” was chosen as one of 35 national semi-finalists in the Film Your Issue competition. A jury including George Clooney and Walter Cronkite have voted on the films and will announce the winners today.

What do George Clooney, Walter Cronkite and the Dalai Lama have in common?

If you guessed "Uh, nothing" on any other day, you'd probably be right.

But as of today, these three, along with a jury that reads like a Who's Who of the most-influential people in America, have made a decision that will change the lives of several talented young filmmakers.

And one of Virginia Tech's own could be among them.

Tim Leaton, a 22-year-old senior double-majoring in business management and communications, was recently named one of the 35 finalists in the Film Your Issue competition, a nationwide contest that encourages people 18-26 to submit short films that creatively addresses concerns about various social issues.

"It's interesting to see what young people think," said FYI founder HeathCliff Rothman, who created the competition in 2003 through a partnership with the American Democracy Project.

The contest seeks to give young people an opportunity to express themselves and their social concerns to a national audience and make their voices heard.

"It's very clear that there is a generation of young people who are very savvy and very sophisticated," Rothman said. "They expect equal rights instead of asking for them."

The 35 semifinalists were posted on MSNBC.com for public voting. As of afternoon, Leaton's film "Orphans in Africa" had 13 percent of public votes -- the second-highest total.

This public tally will be combined with the decision of the star-studded jury, which also includes U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, and one film for each of the five categories (global issues, arts as bridge, animal welfare, music-driven, and film or new media) will be chosen as a winner. The films and their makers will later be presented at the United Nations in New York City.

As if that weren't enough, one filmmaker will be chosen for a paid internship with the Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles, and all of the winning entries will be shown at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, as well as the 2006 Maui Film Festival in Hawaii.

Leaton's film is vying for the top spot in the global issues category. His submission to the FYI competition was culled from longer footage he captured while serving as a volunteer at the Canaan Orphanage in Uganda.

When he heard about FYI from a friend, he barely had enough time to re-edit his work for the competition.

Leaton's original film about his experience in Africa was 20 minutes long, and the aspiring filmmaker said that his main challenge was deciding which segments to omit in order to comply with the 60-second maximum length.

"That was the difficult part, trying to cram everything into one clip," Leaton said.

He said there was plenty of footage he wished he could have included in his submission, such as shots of his team leader bringing three African children to the Canaan Orphanage for the first time.

Despite his scrambling to submit his film before the May 21 deadline, Leaton said he is grateful for the opportunity to participate in what he believes is a socially important competition.

"I owe a huge thank you to HeathCliff Rothman, because we've never had an opportunity like this before," Leaton said. "It's so rare in that he got so many important people involved in it, and for people in our age group, there's never going to be anything like this again."

Leaton's enthusiasm for the competition paid off, and his clip featuring brief interviews with two young Canaan residents who speak of their gratitude for the orphanage compelled the judges to choose him from among the 300 other films.

"I think my relatives and I, all of our nerves are wound up right now," Leaton said of learning he had made it to the semifinal round.

One person who wasn't shocked by Leaton's success in the FYI competition was Virginia Tech professor Jerry Scheeler, who taught Leaton in his film production class last year.

"Tim has the ability to capture issues, very complex issues, interpret them on film, and create awareness and concern on the part of the audience," said Scheeler, adding Leaton's talent has also been displayed in fiction films.

It was in Scheeler's class that Leaton created "Fruitopia," the short film for which he nabbed the first-place prize at last year's Progeny Festival of Motion Pictures at Tech.

"This is a big thing, big names. It's an honor for both Tim and Virginia Tech, and we should all be very proud of him," Scheeler said.

Scheeler said there is no limit to the possibilities for Leaton, who hopes to return to Uganda in the future and plans to pursue filmmaking as a career after he graduates from Tech next year.

"I'm so excited for him, because one day we'll all know his name," Scheeler said. "I really believe that."

Check out Tim Leaton's other work at www.timleaton.com. For more information about Film Your Issue, go to www.filmyourissue.com.