On Location: Memphis is a competitive 4-day festival that features a diverse mix of local and global films. Awards given in 7 categories: Live Action Short, Feature, Music Video, Documentary,  Animated Short, Student Created Shorts (High School) & Student Created Shorts (College).

It has been my privilege to participate as a presenting filmmaker in this festival a couple of times and I am serving as a juror for the student competitions this year.

On Location: Memphis has a reputation for showcasing some of the finest independent films from around the world. Memphis is a fantastic and fun place to visit. (i.e.,-Graceland, Sun Studio, STAX, Beale Street, BBQ.)  Opening night ceremonies are held at Memphis’ premier multiplex, the Malco Ridgeway Four.  One of On Location’s traditions is to take attending filmmakers out to a Memphis-style BBQ lunch. Then there is the Saturday Night Bash to live Blues and Rock & Roll.

On Location’s mission is to advance, educate and inspire filmmakers, students, and professionals in the cinema arts; to connect the regional audience to the work of local and global filmmakers; and to collaborate with other organizations to strengthen the film community and the economic development of Memphis.

I can tell you from my experience that this festival is a great experience for filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike.

For more information, visit their website at: onlocationmemphis.org.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

The High School Competition was created to promote the art of film-making to Mississippi high school students involved in film and television classes, film groups or individual film-making.

I had the honor of serving as a juror for this competition last year and am looking forward to it again this year.  If you know of a student who might be interested in entering, please pass this information on:

Submission Guidelines:

• 10 minute maximum length, including credits
• DVD format (Region 1 or Multi platform)
• $10 submission fee must be included with entry
• Films must be in English or have English subtitles
• The entry must have been produced in the last two years (after 01/31/09)
• Minimal profanity and violence
• Use of music without written consent will result in disqualification
• Submissions must be postmarked by Mon, March 21st, 2011
• Limit of two (2) submissions by student or collaborative team
• All entry forms must be signed by the sponsoring faculty member

Categories:

• Short
• Documentary
• Animation

Awards:
Judged awards will be determined by the creativity and professional quality of the films regardless of the category. The Audience Favorite award will be determined by an audience rating system. The audience will rank films on a scale of 1 to 10 and the film with the highest average ranking will win. Sponsoring faculty member will receive a matching award if entry places.

Entry Fee of $10 (checks made payable to “Tupelo CVB”), registration form (click the link below) and DVD should be shipped to the following address no later than March 21, 2011.

Tupelo Film Commission
P.O. Drawer 47
Tupelo, MS 38802

You can download the entry form here.

For more information, visit www.tupelo.net/film-festival.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

“Not My Son,” the award-winning University of Alabama documentary about the Birmingham, Alabama Parents Against Violence Foundation, will be screened at the fifth annual Jubilee Film Festival in Selma, Alabama March 5th and 6th, 2011. The festival is held in conjunction with the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee, which commemorates Bloody Sunday, March 7th, 1965 when state troopers attacked peaceful demonstrators at the Edmond Pettus Bridge. The protest and subsequent Selma to Montgomery march led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The documentary will be shown at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, March 5th in the Selma Performing Arts Center located at 1000 Selma Ave. Film screenings begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and will continue until 11:00 p.m. Screenings will continue on Sunday, March 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

“Not My Son” has been screened at film festivals across the US and has won several awards.

For more information:

jubileefilmfestival.com

selmajubilee.com

More about “Not My Son”

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the 14th annual George Lindsey University of North Alabama Film Festival will begin on Thursday, March 3rd as scheduled. A special event honoring the festival namesake, George Lindsey, has been postponed but all the other festival events will go on.

This is a very special event for the Shoals area of Alabama. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend several Lindsey festivals and I’m pleased to recommend it to others. All the film screenings are free and open to the public. Filmmakers associated with most of the films are present to answer questions.

The festival will open this year with a block of Alabama films which includes two films by people with whom I’ve had the privilege of working. Adam Schwartz, an associate professor of media production at the University of Alabama is one of the filmmakers of “Torch,” a short film about the Vulcan statue in Birmingham, Alabama. Another Birmingham icon, Sloss Furnaces, is the subject of “Sloss: Industry to Art,” an Alabama Public Television original documentary directed by Chris Holmes.

The evening of Alabama films will end with “The Secret to a Happy Ending,” Barr Weissman’s documentary about the Drive By Truckers band.

Film screenings continue Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. A gala awards banquet, hosted by actress Natalie Canerday, will bring the festival to a close on Saturday evening.

The festival was to include a tribute to actor George Lindsey, an alumnus of the University of North Alabama and benefactor of the festival. That event has been postponed for unexplained reasons, but there will still be lots of great films and a good time for all who attend.

For more information about the festival, visit lindseyfilmfest.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Winners of the 2011 Campus MovieFest Film Festival at The University of Alabama were announced February 10th at the Red Carpet Finale at the Ferguson Center Theater. All recipients of the top awards for Best Picture, Best Comedy and Best Drama received a free version of Final Cut Pro Studio, an iPod and were invited to the Campus MovieFest International Grand Finale in Los Angeles, Calif. this summer.

BEST PICTURE

Best Picture was awarded to the film “Sugarbaby,” the story of a guy Mark who is trying to break up with his (hopefully soon-to-be ex) girlfriend Stacy, but she is not going to let him go easily when she reveals a big surprise. “Sugarbaby” was created by the group Bob Lob Laws. Group member Hamilton Henson works with me at the Center for Public TV & Radio and can be seen in the background wearing headphones. Congratulations Hamilton! Watch “Sugarbaby.”

BEST COMEDY

Best Comedy was awarded to the film “Mind Games,” the classic story of boy chases girl with a comedic twist. Most films are driven by dialogue, but not this film. This film strictly shows what the characters are thinking. The characters bodies might be saying one thing, but their minds are saying something else.”MInd Game” also won the award for MOST POPULAR by obtaining the most YouTube views during the past week. This film was created by the group Fast Forward. Watch “Mind Games.”

BEST DRAMA

Best Drama was awarded to the film “Bottom of the Glass,” the story of how an unique protagonist loses everything he’s loved in the blink of an eye. With nothing to live for he fills his life with a collection of self-deprecation to fill the empty void. His life seems lost until someone comes along to remind him that life is worth living even after tragedy. “Bottom of the Glass” was created by the group Que The Lights. Watch “Bottom of the Glass.”

BAMA DINING FAN FAVORITE

This year, the Ferguson Center and Bama Dining teamed up to award a team with fun prizes based on the number of votes they received during the two days prior to the finale. Fans could vote as many times as they wanted by text, twitter or web voting. The Bama Dining Fan Favorite award was given to the film “Blue Barry.” Barry, a blue bird, takes on the scummiest of parking lot birds in this stop-action thriller. The clay animation movie was created by the team The Coiner Production. Thomas Coiner is a survivor of my Intro to Media Production class and has worked with me at the Center for Public TV & Radio. Congratulations Thomas! Watch “Blue Barry.”

MAX’S PERSONAL AWARD

I’d also like to congratulate one of my current students, Kathleen Davis. Her group’s production, “In Search of Comedy” turned out well despite the fact that I was out of town when Kathleen contacted me to help her find locations. Way to go Kathleen! Watch “In Search of Comedy.”

GOLDEN TRIPOD AWARDS

Participants were also recognized for specific talents and specific aspects of their movies with the Golden Tripod Awards:

Best Director: Thomas Coiner with “Blue Barry”

Best Cinematography: “Hustle”
Matt Phillips, another survivor of my class worked on this one. Congratulations Matt!

Best Soundtrack: “That’s Why Your Name Isn’t Dante”

AT&T RETHINK POSSIBLE AWARDS

Three semifinalists were also announced for the AT&T Rethink Possible award, which gives them the chance to compete for one of the five spots to pitch their work to Hollywood executives. The finalists include:

“Blue Barry,” “Bottom of the Glass” and “A Certain Woman.”

Campus MovieFest is the world’s largest student film festival and has traveled across the country providing college students with all the equipment they need to create a short film for free in one week. This is the fourth year that Campus MovieFest has come to UA.

For more information about Campus MovieFest or to see the CMF movies, visit www.campusmoviefest.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

The 6th Annual Macon Film Festival will launch on February 17th at the Cox Capitol Theatre, The Douglass Theatre and the Marriott City Center in historic downtown Macon. With over 100 film submission screenings and 4 new categories of awards, organizers are gearing up for the biggest event to date. The film festival will continue daily through Sunday, February 20th.

The Macon Film Festival was created to celebrate the art and craft of the moving image, and to introduce independent films that rarely appear in Macon, Georgia. Macon Film Festival is dedicated to entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences and filmmakers alike by offering innovative and imaginative films both mainstream and independent in nature. We also strive to introduce visiting filmmakers and guests to the Central Georgia community, and to promote film production in the area. The festival is open to filmmakers working in all media, genres, and themes.

2011 Macon Film Festival – Special Screenings
• Thursday, February 17th @ 7:30pm “Freedom Riders”
• Friday, February 18th @ 8:15pm “Black, White and Blues”
• Saturday, February 19th @ 10am “Fat Boy Chronicles”
• Saturday, February 19th @ 8:30pm “The Kid”
• Sunday, February 20th @ 7:00pm “Get Low”

Q&A Session to follow each special screening with special guests.

Tickets are now available online at www.maconfilmfestival.com. Admission for the Thursday day blocks is free thanks to a grant from the City of Macon administered by Macon Arts Alliance. Free admission to all day blocks for students with a valid college ID.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world’s largest student film festival, is coming to The University of Alabama Feb. 1 as part of its tenth annual world tour. Students who sign up for CMF at the Ferguson Center will receive everything they need to make a five minute movie – including an Apple laptop, Panasonic HD video camera and an AT&T phone – all for free.

Any student at UA is welcome to participate, and they get all the training and support they need. Participating students experience a unique opportunity to express themselves, learn about filmmaking, gain exposure and of course, have a lot of fun and have the opportunity to win more than $300,000 in great prizes including iPads, cash, trips to Hollywood pitch meetings and more!

Students can sign up online at www.campusmoviefest.com before moviemaking launches at UA on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Students can pick up their equipment on Tuesday, Feb. 1 in the Ferguson Center second floor TV lounge from 12 to 5 p.m. Students then have one week to film and edit their movies and are free to create a movie about anything they would like. We encourage students to consider some of our special categories – including the following:

* Elfenworks Social Justice category, which focuses on domestic poverty and justice issues around the US and awards $20,000 in cash grants;
* The AT&T Rethink Possible Award, which provides winning students with cash and industry luminary support to start creating a feature film

Movies are turned in on Feb. 7 and then judged by a panel consisting of UA students, faculty and staff. On Thursday, Feb. 10, the top 16 movies will be shown at a red carpet finale at the Ferguson Center Theater at 7:30 p.m. The winners from UA advance to the CMF International Grand Finale in Hollywood, Calif.

CMF began ten years ago when four students at Emory University provided fellow students with everything they needed to make movies in one week. Since then, more than 350,000 students have received all the necessary technology and training to tell their stories for free thanks to corporate partners and schools. Past winners have walked away with more than $2 million in prizes and seen their films on the big screens at CMF events nationwide, at Cannes, at Paramount Studios and on millions of smaller screens – including AT&T mobile devices, in-flight on Virgin America and online.

For more information about Campus MovieFest or to see the best CMF movies, visit www.campusmoviefest.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

The Oxford Film Festival and Thacker Mountain Radio – two of Oxford’s arts and entertainment traditions – have teamed up to celebrate a weekend of movies with an opening night extravaganza on Thursday, Feb. 10 at the Lyric Theatre. The Oxford Film Festival is also proud to announce their Feb. 10-13, 2011 festival films, panels, workshops and conversations to play at the Malco Theater from Feb. 11-13.

Opening the festival on Thursday, Feb. 10 will be a special Thacker Mountain Radio show from 6 to 7 p.m. with special guests Les Blank (documentary filmmaker), Michael Adams (author of Showgirls, Teenwolves and Astro Zombies) and musical guests Robert Belfour, Kenny Brown and more special guests. The evening will continue with a screening of two short films. Les Blank’s “Werner Herzog Eats his Shoe,” and Ray McKinnon’s “Spanola Pepper Sauce Company,” before the feature film “Brother’s Justice,” starring and co-directed by Dax Shepard (currently a star of the popular television show “Parenthood.”).

“The Oxford Film Festival is pleased to be teaming up with Thacker again for our opening night. We are excited to introduce our guests to one of our local treasures,” Executive Director Molly Fergusson said.

Afterwards, guests may mingle at the after-party with filmmakers and musical guests until closing at 1 a.m. The cost for the entire Thursday evening’s events is $20 and goes to benefit both non-profit events, Oxford Film Festival and Thacker Mountain Radio. Guests will receive a wristband so they may come and go through the evening.

For the festival, tickets are:

Thursday night = $20 for all; no student discount
Multi-day, Fri-Sat-Sun = $30; student discount (with valid ID) $25
Day pass (cannot be used on Thursday) = $15; student discount (with valid ID) $12
Saturday night party = $15, no student discount
Individual film pass = $8; student discount (with valid ID) $6.50

Tickets and complete schedule are available at www.oxfordfilmfest.com.

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

My workplace has had a lot of excitement lately. Wendy Reed, whose office is right next door to mine, won an Emmy, and Dwight Cammeron, whose office is just across the hall, won a first place festival award.

The festival award came from the Urban Suburban Film Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the documentary, “Not My Son.” This touching documentary by Dwight and our colleague Ginger Jolly has yet to make it to the airwaves, but it has been well received at festivals. The Urban Suburban Festival awarded it Best Feature Documentary and the award is well deserved. I have been tracking the life of this documentary here as Dwight and Ginger prepared for the initial screening and after the screening as they shared information about the event with me.

“Not My Son” is about how violence touches people. It may bring a tear to your eye, but I encourage everyone to see it.

I’m really lucky to work with such talented people. Congratulations Dwight and Ginger!

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.

A California desert creation by Leonard Knight as seen in God's Architects

The 7th Annual Tupelo Film Festival will begin on Thursday, May 13th with a workshop on how to finance your film followed by an outdoor screening of “God’s Architects,” a feature documentary directed by Zack Godshall. “God’s Architects” tells the stories of five divinely inspired artist-architects and their enigmatic creations. The film details how and why these oft-marginalized creators, with neither funding nor blueprints, construct their self-made environments. The Thursday night outdoor screening will also include music by Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition, who provided music for the film.

The weekend will continue with more screenings, workshops (both for adults and children), forums, special events and end with an awards ceremony.

The Tupelo Film Festival began in May, 2004 as a two-day festival with a goal to expand not only with the length of days but offering more film screenings, workshops, entertainment, forums, special events, networking opportunities and bringing those in the industry together to learn more from one another.

The festival has grown from a national to an international film festival offering diversity in film screenings. It is an event filled with fun, education, social activities, great food, excellent film screenings and more.

It was my privilege to serve as a judge for this festival, so I know that the quality of the films is very high. I recommend this event for all film lovers.

For more information:
God’s Architects website
Tupelo Film Festival website

Max Connections - Random Writings by Max Shores.