Saturday, April 18, 2009

A Jury of Professional Artists and Filmmakers

For the first five years of the Open Frame Student Film Contest -- we relied heavily on the gracious jurying of our faithful alumni, faculty members and staff. We have always been deeply grateful for their willingness to serve current students and their films, but have also been wary in recent years of overwhelming them with so many films and a consistently short time to render their judgement.

Beginning last year we were thrilled to be able to invite a jury from outside of Malone College to give our alums a breather. These capable film, art & entertainment professionals from outside of Malone College graciously gave of their time, effort & energy to watch these student films, many offering comments and feedback for student filmmakers. Thanks Jurors! We're grateful.

Stay tuned to the blog, as we'll introduce the jury as the week leading up to the festival proceeds.

We will award 12 awards this year (as always), and the categories of the awards will include some traditional awards, but will also include some specific awards selected by the jury based on the unique strengths demonstrated by these filmmakers.

Three awards are pre-determined: Best Film, Audience Award & Best Promotional Campaign (a new award this year!).