Do you have a budding Steven Spielberg at home? Do you have trouble keeping your video camera away from your child? The KidFilm Festival is looking for you.
The 14th annual KidFilm Festival is accepting entries for "Kids in the Director’s Chair," a video contest just for kids. KidFilm, the country’s largest and oldest children’s film festival, is sponsored by the USA Film Festival, a homegrown showcase for new films based in East Dallas. Last year more than 23,000 children, parents and educators attended the festival.
Along with contemporary and classic children’s films from around the world, the festival will screen winning videos produced by kids 15 and under at the Jan. 17-18 event.
KidFilm’s Alonso Duralde encourages young people who enjoy film to become part of the creative process by competing.
"Last year, we had about 50 entries, and we hope to have even more this year," Duralde says. ÒThe three first-place winners, plus other videos the judges think have particular merit, will be screened for the audience along with the professional films.
"It’s a great way to encourage interest in the filmmaking process at an early age."
But what if your video camera is a dinosaur compared to some of the new, smaller models with all the latest gadgets? Can your child still compete?
"Absolutely," Duralde says. "The contest is more about creativity, problem-solving and use of imagination than technical capabilities.
"It’s not about who has the most expensive camera or the most sophisticated editing tools."
The contest is divided into three categories: ages 11 and under, which allows some adult supervision; 12-15, in which all work should be done by the young filmmaker; and classroom/workshop, which features group projects made under the supervision of an instructor or counselor.
The deadline for KidFilm video entries is Jan. 5. For more information, call the USA Film Festival at 214-821-NEWS or visit www.usafilmfestival.com on the World Wide Web.
