Take Two

We believe in the power of film, and that the filmmaker is king. Last year we gave one talented filmmaker $50,000 for their short film. The festival was gritty, fun, and a knockdown, drag-out blast… and we’re doing it all over again in 2013.

The Louisiana Film Prize is a short film competition where filmmakers from all over the country come to Northwest Louisiana to make their films during the filming window, complete them, and return after post-production to participate in a winner-takes-all battle for votes and recognition during the festival weekend.

Once you’ve made your film and submitted a rough cut for consideration by midnight (the night of Tuesday, July 9th, 2013), you will have just a few short months to complete post-production. If your film is selected as one of twenty battle films, you will receive an award of $500 and be invited to return to Shreveport, LA to attend Louisiana Film Prize Weekend where your primary job will be to convince an adoring public and a jury of creative experts that your film is worthy of the grand prize. When the votes are tallied and a final decision is made, one filmmaker will walk away with a check for $50,000.

The One Major Unbreakable Rule

All production must be shot in the Shreveport-Bossier area. In order to be considered for the Louisiana Film Prize’s cash award of $50,000, you must be able to prove production was shot in the area. All post-production, music and effects may be executed elsewhere. For a list of places considered “near” Shreveport-Bossier City, scroll down to “The Rules” below.
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How to Get Started

1) Register your film idea and pay the submission fee at www.LAFilmPrize.com. The entry fee is $50 per concept. Alternatively, you can submit a physical form and payment at one of our Official LAFP Check-In Stations (see list below). You may register any time during the shooting window (January 9-July 9).

2) Upon arrival in the Northwest Louisiana area, and BEFORE you shoot your film (during the shooting window) you must check in at an official LAFP “Check In” station (see list below). When you arrive, please have a copy of your registration and proof of payment of your registration. You and a LAFP official will sign your registration form to validate the beginning date of your production. We will keep the signed form and proof of payment on file at the LAFP offices.

3) Once your registration form is signed, then you’re ready to start filming. Principal photography must stop by the day of the rough cut deadline (Tuesday, July 9, 2013). Good luck! Have fun. Create an awesome film. We look forward to seeing you on October 4th for Louisiana Film Prize Weekend.
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Official LAFP Check-In Stations

Robinson Film Center
617 Texas Street Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 459-4122
Note: The Robinson Film Center is unable to accept checks.

Louisiana Film Prize Office
401 Market Street
Suite 860
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 213-6437

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Official Rules

LAFP is a short film competition, open to independent filmmakers of any nationality. Works will be considered for competition only if they have a total running time of no less than 5 minutes and no more than 15 minutes including all titles and credits. The festival committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project. Only live-action, narrative films are eligible (all genres). For the Louisiana Film Prize 2013, documentary and animation will not be accepted.

All qualified entries must be independently produced and financed. Films produced, financed or developed by a major film studio or television network are ineligible for competition.

All entries must be filmed in the Shreveport-Bossier area (including Caddo, Bossier, Webster, DeSoto, Bienville, Claiborne and/or Red River Parishes, La.). Films must register with an official Louisiana Film Prize check-in station prior to the commencement of their production.

Directors wishing to participate must submit a completed application form along with the registration fee of $50. Submission fee is non-refundable and non-transferrable. Films may change their names, but the original title turned in on the registration form should accompany all materials through the selection process along with the new title so that we are able to associate your production with the proper registration form and application fee. If a film is disbanded or not completed, a refund or transfer of application fees will not be permitted – a new registration form and fee must accompany the new film.

It is the director’s responsibility to obtain release forms, liability or other insurance, and other customary permits, permissions and protections as required by any individual, company, or municipality in which your film is in partnership. Teams are responsible for complying with all federal, state, and city regulations, including permitting; in most cases permits can be obtained through Shreveport and/or Bossier City film offices. We note that shooting on public property requires production insurance. The Louisiana Film Prize does not require any of these items by default, but we do expect that you comply with those who do for the safety of your film team. The Louisiana Film Prize is not legally responsible for the production of your film.

While in production, contact with the director and other people involved in the production may be made at any time by LAFP representatives. We reserve the right to visit the set of any production. Some of these visits might be for location verification, creation of promotional videos for the festival, or just welcoming you to the area with warm doughnuts.

You must have the rights to all materials appearing in your film, visual or auditory. If there is a question about rights to media seen in your film, you will be asked to present the license agreement or provide evidence of original composition. This extends to featured logos, music, and video elements like television content that might appear as a part of a scene in your film.

The director should be the only point of contact the production with the offices of the Louisiana Film Prize. All decisions, questions, or issues will be communicated to the director only. From there, the director may disseminate any pertinent information. This is to avoid confusion and prevent multiple calls about the same issue.

All films that are accepted as the twenty finalists MUST PREMIERE their films as a part of the Louisiana Film Prize Weekend October 4-6 at official venues. This excludes trailers, clips, and like promotional efforts.
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Detailed Production Procedures

You must pre-register your film prior to principal photography by completing a form supplied by LA Film Prize. The form will collect information about the film, including title, genre, director, producers, or team name. The form will also include customary waivers, indemnities and licenses required by the LAFP. This form must be accompanied by a registration fee of $50. Production can only begin after you have been officially registered and have checked in at an official Louisiana Film Prize venue and been verified by a Louisiana Film Prize volunteer.

Teams may bring in talent, equipment, and crew from anywhere, but are encouraged to use local resources, including talent agencies, crew, rental facilities and studio spaces. Special offers made available by offices, studios and rental facilities are available on a first come first served basis. See the LAFP website for a list of available resources for this year: www.LAFilmPrize.com.
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Rough Cut Submission and Finalist Selection

The deadline for submission of rough cuts is July 9th, 2013 at 11:59pm. That’s midnight on the night of the 9th. A “rough cut” may be as unfinished (or finished) as you would like it to be. Any submission arriving after midnight will not be accepted under any circumstances. Thus, we encourage you to have your disc burned and prepared to turn in the day before in case technical problems arise.

You must also turn in a copy of your LAFP Qualification Disc OR Book, on a separate disc, with the submission of your rough cut. Do not send original copies of receipts, as your Qualification Disc/Book will not be returned to you. More on the Qualification Disc/Book can be found in the dedicated section below.

Films should be submitted on DVD-Video disc (preferably DVD-R, not DVD+R) and must be playable on any standard DVD player. You see, we have to be able to send these films to our review panel and DVDs are easy to copy. One common format ensures that the selection team without hassle will be able to view your film.  We suggest that once you burn your DVD, that you try it on a few players yourself, as DVDs that cannot be played on the LAFP DVD player will be disqualified. Send the DVD to the submission address:

Louisiana Film Prize Submissions
401 Market Street, Box 128
Shreveport, LA 71101

Do not include any artwork with your submission, including DVD insert label or DVD-disc artwork. Information on the disc should appear as follows:

Title of Film
Director(s)
TRT: X minutes
Team Name or Production Company: XXXXXXX

Films should also include the following preliminary materials: Film description (50 words or less), main production credits (director, writer, producer, composer, and main cast), director’s headshot (digital, 4×6 portrait 300 dpi), movie poster (27”x42” portrait 300dpi in PDF, TIFF, or JPEG format), short director’s bio, and five (5) stills from the film (digital at full resolution). Do not include any text or image watermarks. If you are selected to be a Top 20 finalist, you will have the chance to edit this information before the festival.

Receipt of your entry will be acknowledged by email to the address listed on your entry form. It may take up to 48 hours to send your confirmation. If you wait until the deadline date (July 9), it will take longer to process because most of the films come at that time. You could help us out by sending it earlier.
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Qualification Disc/Book

To qualify to be a finalist for the LAFP, each production must create a “LAFP Qualification Disc” or “Book”. This “disc” or “book” is a digital data disc (compatible with Mac and PC) OR binder book with proof of your production shooting in the defined areas for the contest within the shooting period. It must be presented upon turning in the rough cut (July 9^th) and must be approved by the LAFP staff before a film can qualify as a finalist. If we think we need more from you, we’ll ask.

Contents of the disc or book, which should be one disc separate from your film submission if you choose a disc, should include (but not be restricted to) things like copies of shooting permits, production receipts, location releases, production stills and/or videos showing your team on location. Not all of these items are required – some people may not have applied for a city filming permit, for example – but you should include enough to convince us you were here. As a suggestion, photographs should be identifiable as area locations such as the front of a house, an intersection, or outside of a studio location. Failure to produce a Qualification Disc/Book will disqualify a production from being a finalist. Do not send original copies of receipts, as your Qualification Disc/Book will not be returned to you.
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Final Film Submission

Teams can continue editing their films after the rough-cut deadline while the Top 20 films are picked. Final selections will be announced by Thursday, August 15, 2013. Finalists will be notified during the announcement on the official LAFP website.

Each of the twenty teams selected as finalists will receive a $500 award. That prize will be sent to the address on your submission form (this should be the director’s), unless otherwise specified by the entrant upon notification of becoming a finalist. A W9 tax form from the receiving party must be submitted before the check can be made. Preferably, one would have a W9 ready to send as soon as the announcement is made. The person listed as “director” on the submission form must corroborate any change in the address or payee.

Final films must be turned in by Friday, September 13, 2013, and should be submitted in QuickTime Apple ProRes 422 (Standard ProRes, not HQ or Proxy) in their native resolution (up to 2k) on a data disc or portable hard drive along with the following materials: Final film description (50 words or less), main production credits (director, writer, producer, composer, and main cast), director’s headshot (digital, 4×6 portrait 300 dpi), movie poster (27”x42” portrait 300dpi in PDF, TIFF, or JPEG format), short director’s bio, and five (5) stills from the film (digital at full resolution). Do not include any text or image watermarks.

ALL PHYSICAL SUBMITTED MATERIALS (except hard drives) become the property of the Louisiana Film Prize. These materials will not be returned. By entering the competition, you acknowledge LAFP the right to, and you thereby grant a license to, copy any material for the festival’s use only. Hard drives will be available for pickup on LA Film Prize Weekend.
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Publicity and Licensing

The filmmaker gives the Film Prize Foundation permission to use their film and all submitted materials, including, but not limited to film stills, clips, descriptions, director’s image or likeness, in any and all forms of media at the discretion of the Film Prize Foundation.

LAFP Festival Weekend and Judging

LA Film Prize weekend occurs October 4-6th, 2013. The 20 finalists films will be judged and the Louisiana Film Prize will be awarded during Louisiana Film Prize Weekend.

An Official Jury, made up of artists, critics, writers, filmmakers, and educators views the public exhibition programs and award points to the films. Those points count for 50% of the final tally towards the winning film.

The other 50% of the final vote comes from the audience by popular decision. Any registered attendee may vote using their uniquely numbered festival badges. Attendees must be present at the Louisiana Film Prize Weekend and view all 2o films in order to vote. Attendees may only vote once.

We encourage filmmakers to bring their friends, family, and anyone they can find on the street to buy a ticket to the LA Film Prize Weekend and vote for their film. We encourage the finalists to hold parties, pass out fliers, grab people off the street. It’s up to you, but the more people that vote for your film, the more likely you are to win.

Criteria for consideration are:

Story
Directing
Cinematography
Sound Design/Mixing
Editing
Acting
Music
Overall Film

After voting closes, the tally will be counted, with the judges’ portion and popular vote portion added together to determine the LAFP winner.

Please contact us with any questions.
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