Last year’s Louisiana Film Prize winners Noah Scruggs, Thomas Woodruff and Chris Armand said the attraction to their entry this year, “Samson,” was most likely Woodruff’s “suave smile,” Armand’s “masculine cheek bones,” Scrugg’s “bodacious buzz cut” and the overall the story of “Samson.”

This trio rounds out the Top 20 for the second time, launching this year’s film prize festival Oct. 3-6 in downtown Shreveport.

Festival-goers will see 20 short films, created in the Shreveport- Bossier City area by filmmakers from around the country, and then vote for their choice. The film with the most votes will take the title along with the grand prize of $50,000, one of the largest cash prizes awarded for a short film in the country.

Gregory Kallenberg, founder of the Louisiana Film Prize, said this year the Louisiana Film Prize had close to 80 registrations from all across the nation, with 70 percent of entries from outside of Louisiana, utilizing more than 700 people in cast and crew. The participating films injected more than $2.5 million into the area.

“This was an amazing year for us,” Kallenberg said. “Filmmakers from all over the country came to Northwest Louisiana and created incredible pieces of work. These men and women really took the Louisiana Film Prize to another level. I’m thrilled to say that we are quickly becoming the preeminent film competition in the country and a place people think about when they think about independent film.”

Two of the filmmakers that made it to the Top 20 are Memphis natives Christopher Raines and Candace Mc- Gowen for their film “5ive Courses.”

This is a short film about a couple, Ross and Beth, going on their two-year anniversary date. Beth winds up breaking up with Ross at the very beginning of dinner, and Ross winds up going through all five stages of grief, one at every course of their five course dinner.

“It was a great feeling when they announced ‘5ive Courses’ as one of the Top 20,” Raines said.

“First, it has already generated a lot of exposure for Chris and I as filmmakers, which did not exist before hand. Plus, the challenge of competing against 19 other talented filmmakers has already been a great creative adventure,” McGowen said.

Filming in Shreveport was a new experience for both Raines and Mc-Gowen, but they were grateful for all the local help from Healthy Chef Meals, Millennium Studios and Miss Shreveport Chelsi Hefner.

“Candace and I had never been to Shreveport, so we did not know what to expect.” Raines said. “But, it was fantastic, and the people here in Shreveport just opened their arms and treated us like family.”

The two said they have competed in other film contest but nothing at this magnitude.

“Two great perks that the film prize offers to its Top 20 finalists is a stipend to help fund our promotion campaign,” Raines said. “They also give us an ‘ambassador’ from Shreveport to help advise us on promotional opportunities in the area, since we are in Memphis and not in Shreveport at the moment.”

Ambassador John Bogan, a donor and media manager at Caddo Council on Aging, was assigned to “5ive Courses.” Bogan said he was eager to participate for a second year in the film prize and represent this film.

“As a native of Shreveport, I have enjoyed a life abundant with long, generous and happy relationships. My hope is to share with these Memphis kids (and others) just how giving and loving the creative community is in Shreveport and Bossier,” Bogan said. “The production team [Raines Down Productions] is incredibly creative, enthusiastic, curious, intuitive and accessible. They’re running full steam ahead in pursuit of their dream to become producers of quality cinema projects, and every interaction I have with them leaves me inspired and eager to make them known to a wider audience.”

Bogan said Kallenberg reached out to him for volunteering opportunities, and he was quick to get involved.

“We have an exceptional event, in an exceptional town,” Bogan said. “But, for the amazingly talented folks who are in the Top 20, hitting the ground running is a challenge in a city they are unfamiliar with. I am a Shreveport native and huge believer in the wealth of assets our citizens and community offer, so the role of ambassador was a perfect t.”

For more information on the film prize, visit their website at www.lafilmprize.com.