Ready for some film flam? Cinema culture pumps the imaginary up a notch as the first-ever “Festival at the Grand” presents its selection of winners — in both the short film and screenplay categories — to cine-fetishists of all persuasions on Saturday, June 15, at the Grand Café in downtown Farmington. Organized by a small group of local independent filmmakers — in particular Lance Kawas and Natalie Milbrodt — this showcase will feature screenings of the top 10 videos (each no more than 20 minutes in length) from a competition recently sponsored by SaraJad Films. The best screenplays, meanwhile, will get posted on the group’s Web site, www.sarajadfilms.com, along with the videos. Cash prizes in each category are: First Place, $100, and Runner-Up, $50.
“We didn’t want to be prohibitive with our format guidelines,” says Kawas. “Exciting work is being done on film, video and digital media, so why limit our search to just one?”
“The goal of this contest,” adds Milbrodt, “is to foster the filmmaking talent in the Detroit area and give this growing community an accessible forum for participating and enjoying these great films.”
The Festival at the Grand’s evening of screenings at the Grand Café (33316 Grand River, Farmington) begins at 8 p.m. and is open to the public. Check out the SaraJad Web site for more info.
George Tysh is Metro Times arts editor. E-mail him at [email protected].
