Louisiana Film Prize opens registration for competition

For the third consecutive year, filmmakers will submit their entry forms to Louisiana Film Prize competition to seek the coveted $50,000 cash prize. To mark year three of what founder Gregory Kallenberg called “a gift to the community,” the film prize team will hold their annual celebratory kickoff party 6 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Robinson Film Center.

At the event, filmmakers will receive a special half-off discount on the registration fee, dropping the cost from $50 to $25.

“The Louisiana Film Prize is just one big constant indie film party,” Kallenberg said. “[The kickoff party] is asking for every filmmaker and everyone who wants to be a filmmaker to come to a place for a night where we get to celebrate ourselves, we get to celebrate the film prize and we get to kick this thing off right. For this one night, we are all about to be successful filmmakers. This is that night of hope. It’s incredibly exciting. It’s the rebirth of another year.”

The kickoff party is free and open to all filmmakers and cinema supporters.

The film prize team is planning special guests, surprise announcements and big reveals in the new year. And as always, there will be plenty of film prize “swag” for party-goers to take away. However, the main focus for filmmakers will be the ultimate reward — $50,000 prize and the title.

There will be loads of other winning opportunities, including the select top winners will have their film toured at several film festivals. Also, five films will each receive a $3,000 Founders Circle Award for the filmmakers to invest in a new work to enter in the next competition.

Contestants must meet film prize requirements to be eligible, which includes keeping the short film between five to 15 minutes long and filming entirely in Shreveport-Bossier City during the designated filming windows. From Jan. 14 to the deadline July 8, film crews will race to finish and submit their first cuts of their films.

The excitement for the 2014 competition began immediately at the close of 2013’s LAFP weekend. Already the film prize team has spoken to filmmakers from Arkansas, s, Texas, Georgia, California and New York who are coming to Shreveport-Bossier City to shoot. Many filmmakers are returning, including the 2013 LAFP winners Kyle Clements and Samuel Macaluso, who won for their film“Silo.”

“We believe it to be a part of our job to be ambassadors to all of these people inside and outside the city to help make their job easier,” Kallenberg said. “Making a film is not easy, and we feel ingratiated and humbled by anyone who will pick up that camera and give a try for film prize.”

Kallenberg said in LAFP’s inaugural year about 60 percent of the registrations came from within the Shreveport-Bossier City area. The following year the dynamic flipped resulting in about 70 percent of the registrations coming from out of the area. “There’s nothing but opportunity here,” Kallenberg said. “If you live in this town, this is kind of our gift to the community.

“If we can help with someone’s dream, even if that dream is just to help someone make a film and finish it, we won. I don’t mean just LAFP, but Shreveport- Bossier City as a community wins when we help someone create something beautiful that is their own. The spirit and the energy is amazing. It’s a lot of fun.”

Kallenberg said filmmakers are getting the chance to visit Shreveport- Bossier City.

“All of a sudden, we’re seeing all of these filmmakers come from outside of the community and tell us what a wonderful place we live in, and how accommodating it is, and how kind the people are,” Kallenberg said. “This area has a significant chance of being a creative capital. We have beautiful, kind people here who really do care about creativity and creative entrepreneurship, and we’re on high display.”

For complete rules on how to enter the Louisiana Film Prize, and for more information about the LAFP Kickoff Party, visit www.lafilmprize.com.

– Tiana Kennell

HOW TO BEGIN YOUR FILMMAKING PROJECT:

1. Fundraising. Use an online crowdfunding site like Indiegogo and Kickstarter.

2. Stay Connected & Informed. Use the public Bulletin Board on the LAFP website (www. lafilmprize.com) to find resources, film crew members and offer your services.

3. Get Happy. LAFP hosts “meet-ups” and “happy hour” gatherings throughout the year to allow filmmakers and the community to meet each other and network.