Jul 06 2009
Prizes for MG Film Fest to include great movie series and certificates for local shops
From the folks who run the MorristownGreen.com Film Festival…
We are delighted to announce some terrific prizes for next month’s MorristownGreen.com Film Festival. Top prize is a director’s dream: Two passes to the fall season of the NY Film Critics Series in Morristown. This is like a semester course in film-making–without the final exam! For eight nights you will attend advance screenings of provocative films–and grill the actors, directors and film critics!
Festival runners-up will win gift certificates to fine local restaurants and shops, courtesy of the Morristown Partnership. Our thanks to both of these sponsors, for what is shaping up as a fun-filled night. Mark the date: Aug. 11, under the stars on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown.
The Morristown Partnership is donating gift certificates as prizes for the second annual MG Film Fest on Aug. 11.”Making movies gives young artists a positive outlet to express themselves, in a collaborative effort,” said Mark Ehrenkranz, who runs the NY Film Critics Series with his father, Ira. “It’s like being on a sports team. It’s very powerful to work in a group to create something.”
Ira and Mark love movies the way some fathers and sons love baseball. They are involved with the MG Film Festival for the second straight year, Mark said, because it “nurtures young film-makers, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Do-it-yourself digital technology enables anyone to make movies. This has spawned a personal style of film-making that Mark compares to punk rock: “It’s like, we can learn a few chords and go in the basement and do it ourselves.”
The key for aspiring auteurs, he said, is passion. Don’t set your sights on riches.
Jamie Duffy
Ira Ehrenkranz of the NY Film Critics Series in Morristown.
“In this day and age, you can’t hang your hat on a movie career. It’s more competitive than getting into Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Four thousand films are submitted to Sundance, 10 make it, and two or three are purchased, for next to nothing,” Mark said.
“The goal is to hone your craft, tell stories, and enjoy doing it. If, along the way, you can make a career, and make money telling stories, that’s cool, too. Just do it, and enjoy it, like painting or taking pictures. From my perspective, it’s not about the success. It’s about having your dream and passion, and enjoying it.”
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ENTER YOUR VIDEO IN THIS YEAR’S MG FILM FEST!
DEADLINE: July 10, 2009.
WHAT TO SUBMIT: A disc with your video of 5 minutes or less. Include complete contact info (name, address, phone, e-mail, website), a short bio, and a brief description of how your film addresses the theme of HOPE. Any genre is okay, and strong viewpoints are fine–if they are expressed in a manner suitable for family viewing. Keep ‘em clean!
WHERE TO SEND THEM: MG Film Fest, c/o The Star-Ledger, 10 Wilmot St., Morristown, NJ 07960. We CANNOT return your discs.
THE FILM FEST: MorristownGreen.com and a panel of film buffs will select videos for the show based on originality, style, message, quality and variety. Preference will go to local artists–if you shoot in or around Morristown, live within a day’s march, have ever visited or lived or worked here, dated someone here, etc., those are pluses. Afterward, we will post as many videos as possible on MorristownGreen.com. So your video has a shot at finding an audience even if we can’t show it outdoors.
DATE OF THE FESTIVAL: Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m., on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown.
PRIZES: Top prize: Two passes to the fall season of the NY Film Critics Series in Morristown, where you see cutting-edge films before anyone else does, and meet leading actors, directors and movie critics. Runners-up: Gift certificates to great local restaurants and shops from the Morristown Partnership.
Source - www.nj.com
