Is there a budding young filmmaker living at your house? Is your high school or college student passionate about energy conservation?

The Dallas Film Society, host of the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), is teaming up with TXU Energy to sponsor a student film contest. Participants will submit a 3-5 minute short film about the future of energy conservation in hopes of having their creation shown for 2012 DIFF crowds.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

In addition to the big-time exposure (the top 3 high school and college winners get to have their film screened at DIFF) there are cash prizes for your school’s film department (from $1,250 to $7,500) and individual prizes, which include cash and/or video editing software. The deadline for submission is February 10, 2012 and more details are available here.

“The festival is a great event that not only celebrates film and filmmakers, it celebrates the City of Dallas,” said Lake Highlands mom Karen Fleig, who’s handling advertising and marketing for the Dallas Film Society. The “festival village” will be at Mockingbird Station April 12-22, but there will also be events at West Village, the Majestic Theater, Texas Theater in Oak Cliff and NorthPark’s AMC.

Best of all, LHHS’s Wildcat Wranglers (including Karen’s own son Zach) will be performing at Family Day Saturday, April 14 at NorthPark Center.

No one from LHHS has ever entered the student film contest, Karen says, but they’re hoping to change that. Other schools from RISD have entered and a team from Richardson High has won.

High School Roundtables are held every other month by the Dallas Film Society, including one last month on the set of Dallas. “Roundtables are fun, informative and introduce students to the world of filmmaking on a local and attainable level.”

And to LH’s next Steven (or Stephanie) Spielberg: I want to be your first interview!