Montclair Film Festival Announces 3rd Annual Kidz Shortz Filmmaking Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Abbe Harris                908.233.7990             abbe@caramar.net
Beth Taylor Hart         201.757.3667             bethart@gmail.com

Stu Zakim                   732-754-9051            stu@bridgestrategic.com

 

MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 3rd ANNUAL
KIDZ SHORTZ FILMMAKING COMPETITION

Registration Opens October 15th @
www.montclairfilm.org/kidzshortz

(Montclair, September 30, 2013) – The Montclair Film Festival (MFF), in partnership with The Montclair Art Museum and Barista Kids, today announced the launch of the third annual “Kidz Shortz” filmmaking competition. Registration opens on October 15, and submissions will be accepted through January 15, 2014.

Winners will be announced on the MFF website on February 3, with the Kidz Shortz Awards Ceremony held on February 27, 2014.

Winning entries will once again screen at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival, held April 28-May 4, 2014.  Last year’s filmmakers participated in a Q&A session after a sold-out screening.

Last year’s competition was a great success in keeping with MFF’s mission of nurturing and showcasing talented filmmakers from around the world while creating a cultural focal point for the Township of Montclair and its neighboring communities. The 2013 Kidz Shortz received over 59 submissions from 27 different NJ communities, seven states, and four countries, including cities as far away as Charleston, SC and Leeds, England.

Kidz Shortz is open to students from any community entering 4th through 12th grade in September 2013. Students may submit a short “G” rated film on the theme “The Future…The Way I See It.” Films must submitted on DVD and be no longer than 6 minutes in length. A blind jury of filmmaking professionals and educators will determine competition winners based on story, theme, creativity, direction, editing, cinematography and overall filmmaking competence. The awards will be given in the following age groups:

  • Cinemaniacs: enrolled in grades 4-6
  • Storytellers: enrolled in grades 7-9
  • Visionaries: enrolled in grades 10-12

For registration and detailed information on submission requirements go to

http://montclairfilm.org/2014-kidz-shortz/
.

All participants will be invited to a free workshop at the Montclair Art Museum’s digital filmmaking lab, designed to help entrants through the filmmaking process. Details for this year’s workshop will be posted on the website.

Said Kidz Shortz Chairperson Michelle Anderson, “Kidz Shortz is a highlight of the Montclair Film Festival’s year-round activities. We’re always blown away by the creative storytelling and visual talent on display; these young filmmakers have exciting futures ahead of them.”

About The Montclair Film Festival:

The Montclair Film Festival (MFF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt (501(c)(3)) community-based organization that produced its first multi-day, multi- enue Film Festival in May 2012.  MFF exists to nurture and showcase the talented filmmakers from around the world while creating a cultural focal point for the Township of Montclair.

Formed in early 2010, MFF has produced four summers of outdoor films as well as several special sold-out screenings, all followed by a live “Q&A” with filmmakers and talent.  MFF is also committed to providing educational opportunities for young filmmakers such “Behind the Screens,” a full day seminar for students on careers in filmmaking.

MFF is based in storefront headquarters at 494 Bloomfield Avenue, just two doors up from the Clairidge Theater, in the historic Hinck Building. For information about MFF, visit www.montclairfilm.org/.

About the Montclair Art Museum:

The Montclair Art Museum, a notable, community-based institution with an international reputation, boasts a renowned collection of American and Native American art that uniquely highlights art making in the United States over the last three hundred years. The collection includes more than 12,000  objects: paintings, prints, original works on paper, photographs, and sculpture by American artists from the 18th century to the present, as well as traditional and contemporary Native American art and artifacts representing the cultural developments of peoples from all of the major American Indian regions. The Museum’s education programs serve a wide public and bring artists, performers, and scholars to the Museum on a regular basis. MAM’s Yard School of Art is the leading regional art school, offering a multitude of comprehensive courses for children, teens, adults, seniors, and professional artists.

The Montclair Art Museum is located at 3 South Mountain Avenue in Montclair, N.J. Information and directions are available on the Museum website, montclairartmuseum.org, or by calling 973-746-5555. MAM is open Wednesdays through Sundays, Noon – 5 p.m., and closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and major holidays. Museum admission is $12 for nonmember adults, $10 for senior citizens and students with I.D., and free for members and children under 12.

About Barista Kids:

Barista Kids is a hyperlocal blog with a mission to make life a little easier and a lot more fun for parents in Baristaville.  For information on advertising, write to ads@baristakids.com.  Send press releases and tips to tips@baristakids.com.

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