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A program that trains students in filmmaking skills and behind-the-scenes skills recently won an award from the Louisiana Entertainment Development Foundation. The Awards Foundation will receive $1 million, repaid in five annual installments of $200,000, for its Film Awards Youth Program and related activities for high school and middle school students. The Prize Foundation, based in the state’s Northwest Territory, plans to use recreational funds to expand the program to schools in all 64 Louisiana parishes within five years.
The Prize Foundation has launched the Film Prize Junior, drawing a portion of the initial Entertainment Development Fund awards received in 2021. The program’s success in its first two years set the stage for a second round of funding to expand the student-centered program beyond the Shreveport area into other areas of Louisiana.
“With innovative programs like the Louisiana Film Awards, the Awards Foundation has made important contributions to Northwest Louisiana’s creative economy for more than a decade,” said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pearson. “This latest award from our Entertainment Development Fund will provide an exciting opportunity to expand its student filmmaking program to more Louisiana schools.”
Film Prize Junior offers instruction and industry workshops as well as specialist training in the documentary, animation, horror and comedy genres for high school and junior high school filmmakers. The program encourages students to get involved in underserved communities.
The Foundation will continue to work with the Louisiana Filmed Entertainment Association and will enter into new partnerships with the New Orleans Video Access Center and the International Alliance of Theater Stage Employees, while expanding its educational offerings to Louisiana students.
The organization also plans to work with Shreveport-area filmmaker databases, community colleges and universities, and Barksdale Air Force Base to teach production assistant classes—one on hair and makeup or costumes, another on grip and electrical skills. By teaching these courses, the Film Awards Foundation hopes to increase the local workforce for future film productions.
“Film Prize Junior is truly a labor of love for the Prize Foundation, and it is an honor to receive this LED grant, which continues to inspire and activate children across the state to become creative entrepreneurs,” said Executive Director Gregory Kallenberg. Award Foundation. “This grant will allow us to keep pace with our explosive growth and continue to educate our state’s young men and women in filmmaking and hopefully show them the path to success.”
The Awards Foundation is dedicated to supporting and encouraging local and regional filmmakers, providing them with valuable resources including mentoring and educational workshops, symposiums and networking events. The organization seeks to build a vibrant network of filmmaking communities in Louisiana, connecting them in ways that help build the creative economy.
“Shreveport has a long and exemplary history of supporting and promoting the arts, and the Awards Foundation and its awards pageant have played a huge role in growing the film industry here,” said Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux explain. “We are proud that the Prize Foundation has received this funding to continue a great tradition. This grant is yet another opportunity for Shreveport to remain at the forefront of the film industry. We are fortunate to have the Prize Foundation as a creative force with six ongoing programs offering hands-on opportunities and scholarship for students and professional filmmakers.”
This is the 11th Recreation Development Fund award announced by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development since the program’s inception. In addition to the Prize Foundation’s initial award, previous awards have been awarded to higher education institutions and nonprofit community projects in Natchitoches, Lafayette, Thibodaux, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
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