Wichita, Kan. – The Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts (WAMPA) and the Tallgrass Film Festival announced their call for submissions for the 8th Annual Tallgrass Film Festival which will be Oct. 22-24 in Wichita. In the last seven years, more than 25,000 local and regional attendees and over 200 filmmakers from Kansas and all over the world have enjoyed the region’s premiere independent film festival.
The Tallgrass Film Festival is dedicated to entertaining, educating and enlightening audiences in America’s Heartland by showcasing the very best of independent cinema – including domestic and foreign, documentary and narrative, short and feature length, animation, GLBT and immigrant voices, environmental, and high school filmmaker cinema.
WAMPA also announced their cash awards: $1,000 will be given to the Audience Award Winning Feature Film, and $500 will be awarded to the Audience Award Winning Short Film.
New for 2010, short films screened at the Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmaker and the Joel Fein High School Filmmaker programs will be eligible for two additional Audience Choice Awards: Audience Award Winning Kansas Film and Audience Award Winning High School Film. Submissions from Kansas filmmakers, and high school filmmakers from around the world will not require a submission fee, however, all official submission forms must be filled out as usual at www.withoutabox.com and filmmakers must submit a valid Kansas address or a copy of a valid high school ID, respectively, to request the fee waiver.
For the third year, the 2010 Tallgrass Film Festival will also include the environmentally conscious GREENGRASS category, which will screen films pertaining to environmental issues. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, the festival will once again partner with environmentally friendly companies and organizations, to promote their messages.
Highlights from the 2009 festival included the Opening Night Gala screening of THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN; the Closing Night Gala screening of MOMMY IS AT THE HAIRDRESSER’S (Mama est Chez le Coiffeur) at Wichita State University’s Ulrich Museum of Art; the “Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers” presented by the Kansas Film Commission; the “Joel Fein High School Shorts Program”; the Audience Award Winning Feature Film SWEET CRUDE; the Audience Award Winning Short Film LOST PARADISE ; screenings of the 2010 Oscar-nominated Live Action Short Films KAVI and MIRACLE FISH and the presentation of the Ad Astra Award to indie film pioneer Seymour Cassel.
Official festival selections are made by the local Tallgrass Film Festival Programming Committee, made up of Wichitans from all walks of life. Programmers work diligently throughout the year to tailor the film festival to the Wichita audiences who delight in the festival’s diverse independent film programming.
Founded in 2003 by the late Timothy Gruver, the Tallgrass Film Festival is a program of the Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts, a non-profit 501(c)3 arts organization dedicated to entertaining and enlightening audiences from America’s Heartland. Through the annual film festival, the summertime Cinema Al Fresco Series, WAMPA Filmmaker Academy and Special Screenings, WAMPA spotlights the city’s venues, cultural attractions and artistic communities. WAMPA strives to foster the ever-growing, local filmmaking community, sparking a dialogue among filmmakers and enhancing artistic expression.
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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The entry deadline for film submissions is July 8, 2010 with a late submission deadline of July 22, 2010. (Fees: Features $50, Shorts $25/Late Submission Fee: Features $100, Shorts $50).
The Early Bird Deadline offers reduced submission fees; however, films must be submitted by April 6, 2010, to qualify for the discount. (Fees: Features: $40 and Shorts: $15).
Entries must be submitted on DVD (NTSC format) and will be screened in either Blu-ray, DigiBeta, DVCam or DVD as a final presentation format.
Entries should be sent to: 6505 East Central Avenue, Box #146, Wichita, KS, 67206.
The 2010 Tallgrass Film Festival will screen approximately 24 features and 60 shorts.
To submit a film, please visit www.withoutabox.com and follow official submission instructions.
Submissions from Kansas filmmakers, and high school filmmakers from around the country will not require a submission fee, however, all official submission forms must be filled out as usual at www.withoutabox.com and filmmakers must submit a valid Kansas address or a copy of a valid high school ID, respectively, to request the fee waiver.
