FILMMAKING COMPETITION

Redemptive filmmaking is growing in popularity and this provides an opportunity for good redemptive filmmakers. Regent University's award-winning film school is filling the gap by offering a full tuition scholarship to the winner of its ReelDreams Film Competition.

Redemptive Filmmakers across the US are submitting their 3-5 minute original films at www.reeldreamsfilmfest.com. The submission period began on January 16 and runs until April 3, 2009. The competition process invites audience participation. During the first round of judging, one of the 25 semifinalists will be selected by votes from an online audience. The other 24 will be chosen by Regent's award winning cinema-television faculty. The 25 semifinalists will then be narrowed down to the top five, who will then be invited to the final event on May 16, 2009. The top five will participate in workshops with the judges followed by the final event.

Regent University's ReelDreams Film Competition is designed to empower aspiring film artists to use their talents and abilities to bring creative films to the entertainment industry. It aims to reveal and focus attention on works of quality from independent filmmakers to contribute to the growth and recognition of young artists and to feature positive messages that transform the minds of audiences worldwide.

Film industry professionals will serve as judges at the ReelDreams final event on May 16. The grand-prize winner will be announced at Regent University's Performing Arts Center in Virginia Beach, VA. Additionally, an "audience favorite winner" will be selected by the live audience and by an online-voting audience via live webcast of the final event on www.reelgood.tv.

The grand-prize winner will receive a full tuition scholarship to Regent University's School of Communication & the Arts. Last year's contest winner, Timothy Kay of Cleveland, Ohio, is now an undergraduate cinema-television major at Regent. Regent students receive hands-on opportunities to learn their craft. As a freshman Kay has already been involved in six to seven student films.

Through this film competition, Regent University's School of Communication & the Arts looks for original work that portrays a carefully crafted protagonist facing a moral dilemma that leads to good or bad consequences. The protagonist could make a decision that is ultimately a good choice, or the story may be a cautionary tale.

The School of Communication and the Arts offers bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees in animation, cinema-television, communication studies, digital media, journalism, script and screenwriting, and theatre. Its student films have won over 205 awards. The School is housed in one of the finest production facilities in the Eastern United States. www.regent.edu/communication

Contact: Judy Baker, Regent University Public Relations, 757-352-4307, judibak@regent.edu

Regent University's School of Communication & the Arts
ReelDreams Film Competition