ChrisLyon
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2007
- Messages
- 719
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 16
- Age
- 39
- Location
- Shreveport, LA
- Website
- www.redrelay.net
Alright, folks. I'm Chris Lyon - Reduser for a while now. I work in artist acquisition for a small, but unique film festival in Shreveport, Louisiana. A few years back, I posted about the Louisiana Film Prize and convinced some people to come down to participate. Now we are in year five, still offering the world's largest annual cash prize for a short film. In the last few years, we've had a few notable Redusers participate, like stunning motion/still photographer Christopher Barrett and his wife Alejandra Valera, and one who won the grand prize in 2015, Alexander Jeffrey who was recently featured on red.com about his winning short which was shot on RED.
So I'm here again to pimp the contest/festival. Here's the pitch: The Louisiana Film Prize is a contest and festival that offers the largest cash prize for a short film in the world - $50.000 cash. Not cash and services, not $20,000 in camera rentals. COLD HARD CASH. Ok? Got you yet? Good. So what's the catch? The catch is you've got to shoot your short (between 5 and 15 minutes long) in Northwest Louisiana, around Shreveport. That's it. You can plan at home, post at home, whatever. As long as principal photography takes place in the approved zone. Then of the eligible films submitted, 20 are selected to compete in the festival where national judges and audiences vote for their favorite. And for that privilege to vote, every audience member and judge must watch all 20 films. That's commitment. And we have thousands of people show up to do that very thing every year, and someone walks out with seed funds for a feature or can pay off a few credit cards used on previous projects, or eat a shit ton of pancakes, whatever they want.
You might be saying to yourself, "That's cool, but it's a lot of work for a 1 in 20 shot of winning," and you'd be right. But what you don't know yet is that the big prize isn't the only prize. The top five films as voted by the audience and judges get distribution with Shorts International. Those are the guys that distribute the Oscar shorts every year. You'll get a guarantee of being on all the big VOD outlets and usually ShortsHD throws in a television offer to some of the projects. But that's not all. Those same Top 5 will get automatic entry and placement in partner festivals around the country. In the past we have guaranteed entry into festivals like Hollyshorts, Dallas Video Fest, Synchup Fest, Oxford Film Festival, Louisiana International Film Festival, and others. More eyes, no entry fees or rejection letters.
The festival itself is an absolute blast. It's held in late September/Early October this year. Filmmakers are treated like the artists and celebrities they are. The festival is intentionally small, hosting only 20 films, so the filmmakers, audience, and judges can actually interact and engage, give real time feedback, and share ideas and network meaningfully. I've been to dozens of festivals around the country and, though I'm biased, I would say that you would be hard pressed to sell me on the idea that we don't have one of the most creatively synergistic festivals in the world. Filmmakers come away ready and willing to collaborate together in the future - and often do. It's a breeding ground of ideas and partnerships unlike any other festival where people bullshit about how "I saw your film and it was really good! omg." This isn't like that. Competition is fierce, but friendly. And, at the end of the day, someone's walking away $50,000 richer, some walk out with distribution, and everyone walks out with invaluable connections.
And if that kind of camaraderie and glory isn't enough, then I'm not sure what else to say. A couple of days in Louisiana - whether you truck your team in on a long weekend road trip or hire a local cast and crew - there are endless options to get it done.
So that's my song. I'd love to have some redusers step up to the plate and give this a shot, so I've got a coupon code for registration here, specially for you. It's half off the $50 entry fee. Use wisely: REDUSER25
So I'm here again to pimp the contest/festival. Here's the pitch: The Louisiana Film Prize is a contest and festival that offers the largest cash prize for a short film in the world - $50.000 cash. Not cash and services, not $20,000 in camera rentals. COLD HARD CASH. Ok? Got you yet? Good. So what's the catch? The catch is you've got to shoot your short (between 5 and 15 minutes long) in Northwest Louisiana, around Shreveport. That's it. You can plan at home, post at home, whatever. As long as principal photography takes place in the approved zone. Then of the eligible films submitted, 20 are selected to compete in the festival where national judges and audiences vote for their favorite. And for that privilege to vote, every audience member and judge must watch all 20 films. That's commitment. And we have thousands of people show up to do that very thing every year, and someone walks out with seed funds for a feature or can pay off a few credit cards used on previous projects, or eat a shit ton of pancakes, whatever they want.
You might be saying to yourself, "That's cool, but it's a lot of work for a 1 in 20 shot of winning," and you'd be right. But what you don't know yet is that the big prize isn't the only prize. The top five films as voted by the audience and judges get distribution with Shorts International. Those are the guys that distribute the Oscar shorts every year. You'll get a guarantee of being on all the big VOD outlets and usually ShortsHD throws in a television offer to some of the projects. But that's not all. Those same Top 5 will get automatic entry and placement in partner festivals around the country. In the past we have guaranteed entry into festivals like Hollyshorts, Dallas Video Fest, Synchup Fest, Oxford Film Festival, Louisiana International Film Festival, and others. More eyes, no entry fees or rejection letters.
The festival itself is an absolute blast. It's held in late September/Early October this year. Filmmakers are treated like the artists and celebrities they are. The festival is intentionally small, hosting only 20 films, so the filmmakers, audience, and judges can actually interact and engage, give real time feedback, and share ideas and network meaningfully. I've been to dozens of festivals around the country and, though I'm biased, I would say that you would be hard pressed to sell me on the idea that we don't have one of the most creatively synergistic festivals in the world. Filmmakers come away ready and willing to collaborate together in the future - and often do. It's a breeding ground of ideas and partnerships unlike any other festival where people bullshit about how "I saw your film and it was really good! omg." This isn't like that. Competition is fierce, but friendly. And, at the end of the day, someone's walking away $50,000 richer, some walk out with distribution, and everyone walks out with invaluable connections.
And if that kind of camaraderie and glory isn't enough, then I'm not sure what else to say. A couple of days in Louisiana - whether you truck your team in on a long weekend road trip or hire a local cast and crew - there are endless options to get it done.
So that's my song. I'd love to have some redusers step up to the plate and give this a shot, so I've got a coupon code for registration here, specially for you. It's half off the $50 entry fee. Use wisely: REDUSER25
