Big news announced recently from the Shreveport Times confirmed that the Louisiana Film Prize is extending their deadlines and their shooting zones for the 2020 competition. This decision was made as part of an effort to help the state of Louisiana continue its success and hopefully gain momentum in building a sustainable independent film community. Details on the extensions and the competition are below!
Shooting Zone Extension: While the Louisiana Film Prize typically limits the shooting zone to northwest Louisiana, this year the entire state of Louisiana will be eligible to get in on the action. Once registered at lafilmprize.com, anyone with a short film produced within the borders of the state of Louisiana and in line with the rules (details below) is eligible to compete for this year’s $25,000 prize – this prize is the largest cash award offered for a short film in the world!
Deadline Extension: The original deadline of July 11, 2020 for rough cuts has been extended a full month to August 11, 2020 to account for some of the downtime native independent filmmakers may have experienced during the COVID-19 health crisis.
“Our goal is to help filmmakers and parishes from all over the state continue to evolve and build their creative economies after we are allowed to go back to work,” said Gregory Kallenberg, executive director of the Prize Foundation and creator of the Louisiana Film Prize. ”For 2020, in this unprecedented health crisis, Team Louisiana Film Prize is thrilled to share what we’ve built in northwest Louisiana, and to welcome filmmakers from all over the country to shoot a short in the most accommodating indie film state in the country.”
“Louisiana’s filmmakers are incredibly resilient. Their resourcefulness and passion for creative work is second to none,” said Film Prize filmmaker liaison Chris Lyon. “We will be working with partners across the state to ensure that as many filmmakers can safely participate in the competition as possible and usher in a new era of storytelling for Louisiana.”
An announcement of the top 20 films that will compete in the Prize Fest 2020 are to be announced on Friday, August 28, 2020. They will be shown at the Prize Fest 2020 event, which is currently scheduled for October 2-4, 2020, in Shreveport. A list of important dates for the Louisiana Film Prize 2020 can be found here. Note that organizers are preparing plans to adhere to guidelines from officials during the ongoing health crisis, focusing on allowing attendees of the festival to experience the festival safely.
Through the nine years that the Louisiana Film Prize has been running, more than 800 short films have been created by more than 6,000 local cast and crew, which is roughly the equivalent of that of 100 feature films. The program has also brought approximately $20 million in economic benefit to northwest Louisiana. This year’s changes will likely bring in even more, and to other areas of the state with the extension of the filming zones and deadlines.
So now that you’re considering all that prize money, get your equipment, cast/crew and creativity and get filming. Looking for the rules? Check them out in detail here, and good luck!
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