Who Needs L.A. When You’ve Got LA?

Regular readers of MovieMaker will know that New Orleans was named the number one city to make movies in our most recent issue. But the Big Easy is far from being the only city in Louisiana that moviemakers should be paying attention to. Located in Northwest Louisiana, the Shreveport-Bossier area has seen a rise in production in recent years, with its substantial talent base, ready availability of equipment and low cost of filming drawing productions as diverse as Battle Los Angeles and Super to the area. And while an abundance of financial incentives means that Louisiana is already a great place to be a indie moviemaker, the introduction of the Louisiana Film Prize (LAFP) means that shooting in Shreveport just got even better.

A combination contest/film festival, the LAFP calls upon moviemakers to submit a short film shot in the Shreveport-Bossier area. Ambassadors will be provided to help moviemakers locate and utilize local moviemaking resources while they’re there, and the top 20 films will screen as part of the LA Film Prize Festival Weekend (October 5-7, 2012). There, the festival audience and a panel of judges—including Brandon Oldenburg, co-director of the Oscar-winning short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, produced by Shreveport-based company Moonbot Studios— will select the grand prize winner, who will receive a prize of $50,000.

“This is the coolest film contest on the planet,” notes LAFP founder and executive director Gregory Kallenberg. “It has been created to energize the filmmaking community to create the best work they can in an environment that is incredibly supportive of their endeavors. We hope that the Louisiana Film Prize will help spark a revolution in indie filmmaking in the area.”

Submissions are open until July 9th, 2012. To find out more, visit lafilmprize.com.