Hey kids, wanna be in the movies? How about making your own movie and winning cool awards? Valuable prizes will be presented to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in each grade category including Elementary/Intermediate, Junior High and High School. And how about seeing your film on the big screen at a gala premier event? That red carpet screening of the winning films is already scheduled for March 20, 2005 at the Montgomery College Theatre in the Woodlands, with a preceding pre-screening party at which the young filmmakers can rub elbows with the pros.
Oh – and how about attending great workshops by professional filmmakers. A one or two minute film can be completed in a single weekend, and to make the process of creating your short film (under 5 minutes) less intimidating and more fun, these workshops will educate you in the fundamentals of storytelling, production and editing, while you are at the same time learning how to edit your movie on easy-to-use software, and meeting writers and producers who work with the stars? Sounds like a dream? Not at all. With prime sponsors including Woodlands Online, Silver Rock Productions, The Woodlands United Methodist Church, and Papillon Productions, that dream is becoming reality.
It is also serious business. WYM’s judges include film industry actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, directors, and producers, casting directors, critics and educators. Some of the 2004/2005 judges include the president of the Houston Screen Actor’s Guild, as well as WGA screenwriters who have not only penned films for such stars as Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Peter Falk and Nicolas Cage, but also for such leading studios as Disney/Touchstone, Warner Bros., Spelling Films, MTV, and Castle Rock.
Woodlands Young Moviemakers (WYM) brings it all together in its juried showcase celebrating the achievements of young people in film and video. The objective is to provide inspiration, quality training, experience and a theatrical venue for those with a passion for filmmaking. With the help of professional volunteers, WYM hopes to create a new positive outlet for expression, and help area youngsters to use their God-given talents to realize their dreams. To make the process of creating your short film less intimidating and more fun, professional workshops will be provided to educate you in the fundamentals of storytelling, production and editing.
WYM is a non-profit organization founded and operated by Frank Eakin of Papillon Productions. Eakin is an advisor to both the Houston Young Moviemakers competition, (which is sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts – Houston), and to the organization of Women in Film & Television/Houston. In addition, he sits on the board of a prominent area youth theatre company, Class Act Productions, and is a member of numerous filmmaking organizations. He is a businessman and producer, and a member of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. He began his journey in independent filmmaking in 1985.
For contest & workshop application forms (workshops begin November 6th and deadline for applications is Nov. 1st) and a complete list of contest rules, film categories, and other contest details, go to www.woodlandsonline.com and click on the front-page link to Woodlands Young Moviemakers, or on the Contests link. E-mail inquiries may be addressed to: PapillonMovies@aol.com while mail inquiries may be addressed to:
4747 Research Forest Drive, Suite 180-332 c/o Frank Eakin (Papillon Productions) The Woodlands, TX 77381.
(The Courier 10.10.04)
(The Villager 10.14.04)
