The 1st October sees the launch of The 14 Islands Film Challenge, a nationwide search to find "the UK’s most talented professional or aspiring filmmakers." The competition will give fourteen lucky filmmakers a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend two weeks on an idyllic island in The Bahamas and the chance to compete for a £14,000 cash prize.
The fourteen finalists will be given the opportunity of drawing on scenery which has been the backdrop of many iconic films including; Pirates of the Caribbean, Casino Royale and The Silence of the Lambs.
The shortlisted filmmakers will take inspiration from the uninhabited cays, clear tropical waters and the individuality and warmth of the Bahamian people to tell inspiring and dramatic stories through their films. The filmmakers will be encouraged to show the islands in their own way and demonstrate their creativity and individuality through their final cut.
Each filmmaker will be based on one of the fourteen main islands of The Bahamas and assigned a local team, dedicated to helping them experience and capture true Bahamian life. Each local island team, selected from thousands of entrants in The Bahamas, will also assist each filmmaker with shooting their film.
To enter the competition, aspiring filmmakers are required to submit a 500 word treatment on an inspirational person from their local community, as well as their reasons as to why they should be chosen to be one of the fourteen filmmakers, in no more than 100 words. All entries will be available to view on the challenge website. These entries will be then whittled down by a team of judges and around fifty hopefuls will be invited to turn their treatments into a short film and compete for one of the fourteen places on The Islands of the Bahamas.
In addition:
* A high profile panel of expert judges, including an A-list Director to be announced shortly, will select the fourteen finalists
* Each filmmaker will have use of state-of-the-art camera equipment to create their short film
* An experienced producer will be on hand to guide the contestant during the making of the films out in The Bahamas and also through the editing process in the UK
* Filmmakers will be able to edit their films at the National Film and Television School’s editing suites in Beaconsfield
All fourteen films will be aired at a prestigious red carpet event at BAFTA in March 2010 when the winners of the challenge will be revealed. The overall winner takes home £14,000, with other prizes to the second and third placed finalists to further develop their filmmaking talent including state of the art camera equipment.
The 14 Islands Film Challenge is a competition created and sponsored by The Bahamas Tourist Office UK. The competition invites aspiring or professional filmmakers to shoot an inspiring and dramatic story about The Bahamas and compete for a £14,000 cash prize. Supported by the National Film and Television School (NFTS) the competition seeks to inspire up and coming or professional filmmakers and give them a launch pad for their careers.
The challenge opens on the 1st October 2009 and runs until March 2010.
Entry requirements:
To demonstrate why filmmakers should be chosen to make a short film in The Bahamas entrants must:
* Tell us about their filmmaking capabilities
* Upload a piece of short film they have already created
* Submit a written treatment (max 500 words) for a short film, no longer than 2-3 mins in duration, featuring a local hero / known character from their local area
* Tell us which island of The Bahamas they identify with most/ is their favourite/best portrays their character and why, also why they should be chosen to make their film in The Bahamas in no more than 100 words
* Entries must be received by 31 October 2009
* 42 entries will be short listed and advised by Monday 2 November. Each filmmaker will then be asked to make their local hero film which must be uploaded to www.14islandsfilmchallenge.co.uk by 30 November 2009
* 14 filmmakers will be selected from the 42 to travel to The Islands of The Bahamas and make a short film on one of the stunning islands during February 2010 (Challengers must ensure they are free to travel from 26 January 2010)
* Open to residents of Great Britain only
More information on the entry criteria and registration can be found at: www.14islandsfilmchallenge.co.uk.