True North Film Festival: April 2008

True North Film Festival

Your little film on the big screen!™

The Summer cycle of competition is ON!

The deadline for application turn in is on Friday, June 13th for the next round.

Current jackpot = $120
plus
A $200 coupon towards equipment rental courtesy of Lowing Light & Grip!

Competitive films are due on Wednesday, August 27th by 7:00 PM at the Wealthy Theatre. Come on out and watch a free movie at the WMFVA Fourth Wall event that night too!

The next True North Film Festival Screening is:
Friday, September 5th at 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM)

The Mission:
To provide filmmakers with an opportunity to hone their skills through friendly competition in order to stimulate growth, creativity and collaboration here in Michigan's thriving film community.

Three Easy Steps:
Step one: Competing filmmakers throw $60 ($40 for students) into a jackpot and in turn draw a title from the festival organizers.
Step two: The filmmakers have a certain amount of time to make the best movie they can based on their title and turn it in by the deadline.
Step three: All films are screened to the audience and the top three films are selected as a critical choice by a a panel of judges composed of industry professionals.
Final step: The jackpot is awarded to one critical choice filmmaker as selected by the audience in attendance during the competitive screenings.

Location & Tickets
We screen your films at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center's Wealthy Theatre located at 1130 Wealthy SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.
General admission tickets are available at the door for $5 while competing filmmakers and a guest may attend their film screening free of charge.

So do you have what it takes to make a film of your very own?

Check out the FAQs section below for addtional information about how to compete and/or screen your film at True North Film Festival.

Friday, April 4, 2008

True North Film Festival tonight!

Hello all!

A friendly Friday afternoon reminder that True North Film Festival will be screening it's four finalist tonight down at the Wealthy Theatre here in Grand Rapids. http://www.grcmc.org/theatre/directions.php

Tickets are a modest $5 at the door which open at 6:30PM with the show starting at 7PM. There will be a brief Director's Q&A after the finalist screenings and after the winner is announced there are networking opportunities for local directors, actors, screenwriters and producers to gather in the lobby, sign up for the next round of competition and plot their own True North entry for over the Summer.

Your True North Finalists for the Spring edition are:

"The Light Fantastic" by Jim Dies
"The Box" by Drew Story
"Temperance & Tequila" by Jason Roth
"The Green Machine" by Philip Carrel

What's True North Film Festival?

You can check out more information here: www.findyourtruenorth.com but the long story short is that filmmakers throw money into a jackpot, draw a title and then make the best short movie they can based on said title. The winner is chosen by the audience in attendance by paper ballot. Don't you just wish everything in this country was so soundly democratic? ;)

This round's jackpot is $400 and Lowing Light and Grip is offering an addtional $200 coupon off equipment rental to the winner. http://www.lowinglight.com Thanks, Dave!

See you all tonight!

Ben Wilke and Jonathan Boes

www.deependfilms.com

A.E. Griffin

www.unsafefilmoffice.com

FAQs

How do I contact you all? info [at] findyourtruenorth [dot] com or come on out and see us at any of the competitive screenings. Please come back and check this website for periodic updates.

What genre of film can I submit? Any genre although comedies tend to score better with audiences while the judges tend to lean towards dramas. Submitted films are reviewed before being screened and if the content is not appropriate with community standards then the film is not screened. There are no jackpot refunds if you make a film that can not be screened for any reason.

How long do I have to make the film? Anywhere from two to four months depending on the time of year.

How long does the film have to be? A TNFF film must be at least three minutes and at most ten minutes in length to qualify.

Can I screen my film outside of the competition? We'd love to talk to you about it more if that is your interest. Feel free to contact us with some details.

I just want to come and see the films. How much does that cost? Typically $5 at the door on the day of the screenings. Competing filmmakers and a guest are offered complimentary tickets to their own films.

Who are you guys? TNFF is currently organized and managed by Ben Wilke and Jon Boes of Deep End Films and A.E. Griffin of UnSAFE Film Office. We're Michigan filmmakers who are eager to meet, network and encourage our fellow filmmakers in their chosen craft. We know it's not easy, but hey, if it were easy everyone would do it, right? So you say you want to be a filmmaker, eh? Well, here's your chance to come out and prove it through a state of the art venue and with the support of our film community at large.

Be cool. Be true.

Disclaimer & Legal Notice

We do our very best to keep information topical and accurate, but mistakes will happen occasionally. Please contact us with any and all updates and notices and we'll do our best to correct inaccuracies right away. All contestants, filmmakers and the audience cooperate with True North Film Festival at their own risk and guarantees are neither offered nor should be implied by attending, competing or otherwise being associated with True North Film Festival. Sponsors and supporters are not liable for the operations and management of True North Film Festival.

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