My fellow filmmakers! (seems appropriate for an election year). Welcome to Memphis & welcome to the first annual Memphis Film Prize!
Let the word go forth from Memphis & Shelby County, that the torch of creative competition and cinematic collaboration has been passed from our sister city of Shreveport and our friends at the Louisiana Film Prize to a new partnership in The Memphis Film Prize!
Wether you are a seasoned filmmaker with a long list of credits or a new filmmaker seeking to capture your vision on film for the first time – we hope that you’ll consider shooting a great short film for the Memphis Film Prize!
To filmmakers from around the world, you join the ranks of great filmmakers like Jim Jaramusch, Wong Kar Wai, Francis Ford Coppola, Alejandro González Iñárritu – all of these filmmakers have shot great films in Memphis.
To my fellow Memphians I hope that you will embrace the Memphis Film Prize and welcome the filmmakers both from here and those coming to Memphis for the first time.
Memphis has a long history of fostering the creative & innovative artists with open arms and helpful hands.
Creative collaboration is at the heart of filmmaking and we hope that spirit of co-operation and ‘co-opetition’ will spur filmmakers from Memphis to work with teams from outside the city to create great films.
Our goal is to foster the creation of great original films and create a eco-system of involvement that will be a platform for emerging talent of the 21st century!
Film represents an unlimited horizon of opportunity for individuals and communities alike.
The acquisition of the skills necessary for a successful career in the creative arts builds and focuses an individual in many ways that traditional fields can’t and a community of creatives is necessary for building and sustaining a dynamic vibrant economy from which everyone benefits.
It has been said that a city is a collection of dreams, I hope that you will follow your dreams and share your stories with the Memphis Film Prize!
Welcome and Warmest Regards,
David Merrill
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