Full Moon Fest For Teen Filmmakers

Full Moon Shines Creative Light On Teen Filmmaking…

No Experience Necessary – Deadlines Announced

High school students who have ever dreamed of creating their own film are getting a big encouragement to “go for it”, as the Full Moon Film Festival gears up for its third year by announcing this year’s deadlines and a line-up of great prizes. The competition is open and free to all area high school students (public and private) regardless of experience, and offers great assistance for every stage of production.

“You don’t have to be a filmmaker or have any experience to enter,” says Andrew Rizario, Festival Director. “The main goal of the Full Moon Film Festival is to attract high school students from all backgrounds of technical and artistic ability.”

The focus of the May 2nd festival is on American history, and the subject matter must pertain to the years 1770 – 2000. They can be of any genre except horror, and must be no longer than six minutes plus up to thirty seconds for film credits. The first deadline associated with the festival is April 10th, when the letter of intent is due, stating that you intend to submit a film in the festival.

“To succeed in any profession, future generations must understand the power and influences of electronic media,” says David Tune, festival founder and head of Zendo, Corp. “We created the Full Moon Film Festival to encourage every student to learn to express themselves using technology regardless of their experience. Since films are not judged on technical merit, any student who has a compelling story can enter and potentially win.” Zendo is the primary festival sponsor.

Would-be filmmakers can get a crash course in filmmaking by attending a free workshop on March 29th from 1 – 5 p.m. at Watkins School of Art & Design at 2298 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. The goal of the workshop is to provide aspiring filmmakers with a crash course in Filmmaking 101. They’ll cover all major aspects, from idea generation to scripting, shooting, and editing. Any question the students want to raise, organizers will help them find an answer. A professional screenwriter will even be on hand to give some pointers. Interested students can register through their teachers at school.

The entry deadline is April 17th, 2009. The festival has a great website with all sorts of useful information on it, including the formats that entries must be submitted in. The website, www.fullmoonfilmfestival.com, also has copies of last year’s winners that you can watch and get ideas from. Last year, first place was won by Stratford High Students, Emily Thomason and Holden Patterson, with their documentary titled “A New Depression”. They had no prior film experience and no editing equipment of their own.

All the entries will be shown at the festival on Saturday, May 2nd, from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m., at Montgomery Bell Academy, 4001 Harding Road in Nashville. Winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded.

Winners will receive cash and prizes worth $2,000 for first, $1,000 for second, and $750 for third. The teacher/sponsor of each winner will win $500 for their school program. There will be other “best of” awards given out as well. Great prizes for aspiring young filmmakers!

This year’s judges are screenwriter Howie Klausner, who co-wrote the Clint Eastwood film Space Cowboys, and Brian Owens, the Artistic Director for the Nashville Film Festival. The first place winner will also get the opportunity to enter in next year’s Nashville Film Festival in their Young Filmmaker category.

The Nashville Film Institute and Ingram Entertainment are also contributing sponsors to this year’s festival.

Check out the website (www.fullmoonfilmfestival.com) for all the information, forms, and ideas you’ll need. If you have any questions e-mail Andrew at fullmoonfilmfestival@gmail.com

Dates to remember:
March 29th Free filmmaking workshop at Watkins
April 10th Letter of Intent due
April 17th Film entry deadline
May 2nd Full Moon Film Festival at Montgomery Bell Academy