6.03.2011

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FestivALL's new 72-Hour Film Challenge seeks participants

http://wvgazette.com/Entertainment/201105250972

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Bob Wilkinson, co-organizer of FestivALL's new 72-Hour Film Challenge event thinks entering the competition should be a no-brainer for any local filmmaker.

"There's no entry fee," he said. "First prize is $500. Second prize is $300. Third prize is $100. And like I said, there's no entry fee."

The contest was conceived by Hollywood producer and location scout Jesse H. Rivard, who is a native of Duck. The concept is simple. At noon on Thursday, June 16, entrants will be given a theme and subject. After that, they have 72 hours to shoot, edit and submit a 10-minute film that will be screened June 19 for three judges.

Those judges are Jeff Tinnell, Bill Hogan and Chuck Frostick. Tinnell, a Fairmont native, is a film and graphic novel producer. Hogan is the director of Charleston's Image Associates, which provides advertising, public relation and media production services. Frostick is an editor and videographer at West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

"It does have to be family friendly," Wilkinson said. "FestivALL is a family event, and we don't want to restrict audiences."

Other than that, filmmakers are free to run wild -- as long as it fits in with the challenge guidelines.

"We want people to have fun with it," Wilkinson said.

The deadline for the 72-Hour Film Challenge was set at June 1, but Wilkinson says that was never intended as a hard deadline. It's a new event and they're still trying to get the word out.

"We've got a couple of weeks yet," he said.

And while Wilkinson says he's had a number of calls from people interested in the challenge, so far no one has committed to taking it on.

"Best case scenario is we find six to 10 people to do this," he said.

Wilkinson, a local filmmaker and a videographer at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, says with only a small pool of competitors, the odds of winning a prize are pretty good.

"If I wasn't helping to put this thing together, I'd do it."

For an entry form for the competition, visit www.festivallcharleston.com. For more information, contact Wilkinson at 304-532-4233 or astraydogf...@gmail.com or Rivard at 310-339-1881or purpleprese...@mac.com.

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.