Great Lakes Independent Film Festival

2012-01-09T16:26:00.003-05:00

2012 Great Lakes International Film Festival Call for Entries

Considered among the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world, the 11th annual Great Lakes International Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries for the 2012 Festival.

We shall accept submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films and scripts in the genres of documentary, horror, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, and all genre of music videos and Gay/Lesbian films for the 2012 festival.

Showcasing the best films of the 2012 season, the Great Lakes International Film Festival will be held LIVE in the great city of Erie Pennsylvania in September 2012, with our online festival taking place September 20th thru September 30th, 2012.

We shall accept all ranges of music videos, along with entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays of all genres and niches.

The 2012 Great Lakes International Film Festival shall accept Music Videos from around the world of cross-continent and cross-genre productions. We shall accept Music Videos of all Ranges from Pop, Punk, Rock, Alt-Country, Country-Western, Folk, Reggae, Hip-Hop to Electronica, Jazz, Blues, Zydeco, Industrial, Metal, Hardcore, Gothic, Karaoke, Avant-Garde, World Music, and Experimental.

The 2012 Great Lakes International Film Festival will accept all forms of Religious, Christian, and Spiritual films including African, African American, Gay/Lesbian, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native/Aboriginal and student films from the United States and around the world.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival Horror categories for scripts and films will include Horror, Thrillers, Science Fiction, Suspense, Supernatural, Grindhouse Horror, Horror Documentary, Horror Animation, and student films and scripts.

The annual screenwriting competition is a way for new and veteran scriptwriters to possibly get the break they need.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival, having produced one successful film festival after another while showcasing more than a thousand films has paid out thousands of dollars in awards and prizes for our scriptwriting competition, not to mention the countless films and filmmakers who have gone on to bigger and better things after screening at our festival.

The Great Lakes Film Festival Scriptwriting Competition offers a $1,500.00 cash award to our first place winner of the 2012 competition among other prizes. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

For more information, rules, deadlines and fees please visit www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

2011-04-09T23:24:00.001-04:00

2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival Call For Entries

Considered among the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world, the 10th annual Great Lakes International Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries and will accept submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films and scripts in the genres of documentary, horror, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, and all genre of music videos and Gay/Lesbian for the 2011 festival.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival, having produced one successful film festival after another while showcasing more than a thousand films has paid out thousands of dollars in awards and prizes for our scriptwriting competition, not to mention the countless films and filmmakers who have gone on to bigger and better things after screening at our festival.

Among the many outstanding films we have had the honor to present are "The Collector of Bedford Street" which was nominated for an Academy Award; "The Derby Stallion", which was picked up by a subsidiary distribution company of Disney and can be found on the shelves of Wal-Mart and other national retailers and additionally has been shown on Stars Encore and other major networks; "The Still Life", which is now distributed by Warner Brothers and "South of Heaven, West of Hell" which was directed by Dwight Yoakam and went on to screen in theaters grossing more than $4 million dollars in its first weekend and being picked up by such networks as HBO.

We have also had many, many films that have screened on the Sundance Channel, IFC, PBS and HBO along with countless filmmakers who have received distribution deals after screening in our festival.

Showcasing the best films of the 2011 season, the Great Lakes International Film Festival will be held LIVE in the great city of Erie Pennsylvania on September 23rd thru September 24th 2011, with our online festival taking place September 22nd thru October 1st, 2011.

We shall accept all ranges of music videos, along with entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays of all genres and niches.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival will accept all forms of religious, Christian, and spiritual films including African, African American, Gay/Lesbian, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native/Aboriginal and student films from the United States and around the world.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival horror categories for scripts and films will include Horror, Thrillers, Science Fiction, Suspense, Grindhouse Horror, Horror Documentary, Horror Animation, and student films and scripts.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival shall accept music videos from around the world of cross-continent and cross-genre productions. We shall accept music videos of all ranges from pop, punk, rock, alt-country, country-western, folk, reggae, hip-hop to electronica, jazz, blues, Zydeco, industrial, gothic, karaoke, avant-garde, world music, and experimental.

The Great Lakes Film Festival Scriptwriting Competition offers a $1,000.00 cash award to our first place winner of the 2011 competition among other prizes. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

2010-12-17T22:42:00.001-05:00

Considered among the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world and a 501c(3) non-profit organization, the 10th annual Great Lakes International Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries and will accept submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films and scripts in the genres of documentary, horror, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, and all genre of music videos and Gay/Lesbian for the 2011 festival, September 22nd thru September 29th, 2011.

Our film festival has reached a global echelon launching our festival interactively online allowing independent filmmakers and fans to watch and enjoy the films world wide on the go, from work and from the comfort of their own homes. In this technologically advanced world we live in, where communication and convenience MUST be at the tips of our fingers, we knew this was the next evolution in film festivals.

Since launching our fest online we have gained even more popularity among the film viewing public and filmmakers, not to mention production houses and distributors because they no longer have to travel to find the next film that will make Hollywood sit up and take notice. In this day and age, convenience is the name of the game, especially for the independent film industry.

Much like most other festivals, ours was limited by time in how many films we could screen at the fest. Simply put, if a film is good, it will be accepted and screened without time constraints. Films will not be available for download, but shall be presented in a video on demand system that will allow users to watch the films. The V.O.D. system will be secured and can be viewed from any computer.

Unlike other festivals streaming films online, films in this festival cannot be downloaded, the films HAVE NO EMBEDDING CODE and our HTML code if copied and pasted, the films will not play, therefore they CANNOT be placed on other websites.

The only time and place they can be viewed is in our festival. In short, we have gone to great lengths to set this system up to protect the safety and security of each filmmaker's film always keeping the filmmaker in mind. Basically, it is just as secure as a brick and mortar theater screening, only much better.

You hear so much about the environment and global warming it got us thinking. When you realize how much power is used during the film fest – electricity for the building, natural gas for heat and the gasoline the people use to get to the fest it left one hell of a carbon footprint. By doing the whole festival on line, it actually helps cut down on greenhouse gases.

We shall accept all ranges of music videos, along with entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays of all genres and niches.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival will accept all forms of religious, Christian, and spiritual films including African, African American, Gay/Lesbian, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native/Aboriginal and student films from the United States and around the world.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival horror categories for scripts and films will include Horror, Thrillers, Science
Fiction, Suspense, Grindhouse Horror, Horror Documentary, Horror Animation, and student films and scripts.
The annual screenwriting competition is a way for new and veteran scriptwriters to possibly get the break they need.

If there is anything as universal as the ageless storytelling of motion pictures, it’s the music that makes up life’s soundtrack.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival shall accept music videos from around the world of cross-continent and cross-genre productions. We shall accept music videos of all ranges from pop, punk, rock, alt-country, country-western, folk, reggae, hip-hop to electronica, jazz, blues, Zydeco, industrial, gothic, karaoke, avant-garde, world music, and experimental.

The Great Lakes Film Festival Scriptwriting Competition offers a $1,000.00 cash award to our first place winner of the 2011 competition among other prizes. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

2009-01-12T17:34:00.000-05:00

Considered among the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world, the 8th annual Great Lakes Independent Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries and will accept submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films and scripts in the genres of documentary, horror, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, and all genre of music videos and Gay/Lesbian for the 2009 festival, September 24th. Thru September 27th. 2009.

This year’s film festival shall reach a global echelon launching our festival interactively online allowing independent filmmakers and fans world wide to not only enjoy the films, but communicate with each other in real time as though they were together in the same room via online chat and web cams.

Much like most other festivals, ours was limited by time in how many films we could screen at the fest. Simply put, if a film is good, it will be accepted and screened without time constraints. Films will not be availible for download, but shall be presented in a video on demand system that will allow users to watch the films. The VOD system will be compatable with Windows Media Player and other video viewing software.

We shall accept all ranges of music videos, along with entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays of all genres and niches. The 2009 Great Lakes Independent Film Festival will accept all forms of religious, Christian, and spiritual films including African, African American, Gay/Lesbian, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native/Aboriginal and student films from the United States and around the world. With the advancements in digital technology, the ordinary movie viewing experience will change, and this is why we are brought the technology to our festival. The use of the DLP technology will enhance the audience’s experience by allowing them to observe the films as they are meant to be viewed. The technology allows most independent filmmakers to keep their exhibition formats as close to the original shooting format of their project, while reducing transfer costs. The Great Lakes Independent Film Festival is the first film festival world wide to completely exploit the DLP projection technology by Texas Instruments.The Great Lakes Independent Film Festival horror categories for scripts and films will include Horror, Thrillers, Science Fiction, Suspense, Grindhouse Horror, Horror Documentary, Horror Animation, and student films and scripts. The Great Lakes Film Festival Scriptwriting Competition has achieved such great success in past years that we now are able to offer a $5,000.00 cash award to our first place winner of the 2009 competition among other prizes. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

The annual screenwriting competition is a way for new and veteran scriptwriters to possibly get the break they need. If there is anything as universal as the ageless storytelling of motion pictures, it’s the music that makes up life’s soundtrack. The 2009 Great Lakes Independent Film Festival shall accept music videos from around the world of cross-continent and cross-genre productions. We shall accept music videos of all ranges from pop, punk, rock, alt-country, country-western, folk, reggae, hip-hop to electronica, jazz, blues, Zydeco, industrial, gothic, karaoke, avant-garde, world music, and experimental.

www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

2006-04-06T18:28:00.000-04:00

GMD FILMS in association with LEPER ISLAND PRODUCTIONS announces the World Theatrical Premiere of the new psychological horror thriller "Fury", presented by Great Lakes Film Association, will be raging into The Roadhouse Theater 145 W 11th Street Erie, PA 16501, on May 4, 2006 doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7:30pm.

The film will be followed by a brief question and answer period with film makers Paul Gorman and Steed Merrill along with a meet and greet with select cast members.

“Fury” is the story of when high powered feminist attorney, Laney McCoy began an affair with the much younger Michael Pierce. She didn’t expect anything more than a fling. But when jealousy turned into rage, Laney lost control of the situation. Now a horrible crime has been committed and it's up to her attorney Rebecca Carlton to sort out the details of what happened that night and reconstruct the events from Laney's strange past. As the body count rises, so does Rebecca’s suspicions that things may not have happened exactly the way Laney has described.

Follow the story as it unfolds from the brutal assault on Michael Pierce to the bone chilling ending that will make you hope it never happens to you.

Cast & Crew:

The film was written and directed by first time film makers Paul Gorman and Steed Merrill. It stars Marie Madison as Laney McCoy, James Xavier as Michael Pierce and Renee Rohan as attorney Rebecca Carlton. Rounding out the cast is indie film veteran Victor E. Kuehn (10th & Wolf / Fresh Meat) and local stage actress Jessica Annunziata. The film was scored by acclaimed writers J. Saba and S. Winter who’s music can be heard in "White Noise" and "The Grudge". Complimenting the score is original music by The Void and 5 Empty Chambers.

Immediately following the meet and greet will be live music featuring singer/songwriter Greg Ropp of one of Erie's most popular bands, The Void; making their first appearance in Erie, live on stage, the underground masters of punk rock, Final Rest; and headlining the party, Erie's own premiere Rock & Roll/Punk Group Trashed.

The theatrical trailer can be viewed and downloaded at the film’s official web site http://www.eriefury.com

While the film has not yet been rated, it does meet the requirements for a R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and is recommended for an adult audience. The film contains adult language, graphic violence, gore, nudity and depictions of sexuality.

For more information about the film, press inquiries, and reservations please contact: Paul Gorman by e-mail at paul@eriefury.com or Steven M. Opsanic at (814) 873-5069

2006-01-01T01:20:00.000-05:00

The 5th annual Great Lakes Independent Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries, accepting submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films, documentary, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, comedy, horror-sci-fi and all genre of music videos, adult and Gay/Lesbian films for the 2006 festival, September 20-24, in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Roadhouse Theatre. We shall accept all ranges of music videos from pop, punk, rock, alt-country, country-western, folk, reggae, hip-hop to electronica, jazz, blues, Zydeco, gothic, karaoke, avant-garde, world music, and experimental. Centrally located, Erie is only a short drive from the cities of Cleveland, OH; Buffalo, NY; and Pittsburgh, PA.

The early submission deadline is January 2, 2006 and the final deadline is July 1, 2006. The Great Lakes Independent Film Festival is designed to showcase the creations of independent filmmakers and to enhance the culture and prosperity of the Great Lakes Region. The fun filled five-day event will include celebrities, parties, film screenings, award ceremonies, industry professionals, and much more.

We accomplish our mission by showcasing new independent films and by awarding outstanding filmmakers. Our film festival has showcased over 250 films over the past 4 years including numerous films that have been aired on HBO, PBS, and the Sundance channel, and with "The Collector of Bedford Street" nominated for an Academy Award. In October of 2004 we were proud to present the North East United States Premiere of "SAW" Lions Gate Films' gripping psychological thriller starring Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and Leigh Whannel.

We have also been host We have also been host to such special guests as actor/director/producer Dirk Benedict; writer Erick Rodgers; director/producer Harri James; producer Otto Felix; award winning, best selling mystery author Jamian Snow; actor/writer/producer Bill Hinzman; director Lloyd Kaufman; actor Gunnar Hansen; actor/ director Mark Borchardt; director John Hancock; actress Debbie Rochon; producer/director Bobby Logan and having presented Keith Carradine with a special award for artistic excellence, the Great Lakes Independent Film Festival continues to seek out the best and brightest of independent film and film makers.

Feature Length:

$55.00 if postmarked by January 2, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$65.00 if postmarked by March 4, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$75.00 if postmarked by May 6, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$85.00 if postmarked by July 1, 2006 (U.S. Currency only) Withoutabox entries ONLY

Shorts:

$45.00 if postmarked by January 2, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$55.00 if postmarked by March 4, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$65.00 if postmarked by May 6, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$75.00 if postmarked by July 1, 2006 (U.S. Currency only) Withoutabox entries ONLY

Animation and Experimental and Music Video Submissions:

$25.00 if postmarked by January 2, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$35.00 if postmarked by March 4, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$45.00 if postmarked by May 6, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$55.00 if postmarked by July 1, 2006 (U.S. Currency only) Withoutabox entries ONLY

The Great Lakes Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing the independent films in the digital medium to present the best of the Great Lakes to the peoples of the region and beyond, and to bring a world of stories to its shores.

The early submission deadline is January 2, 2006. For more information please visit us at www.greatlakesfilmfest.com

2006-01-01T00:24:00.000-05:00

The 5th annual Great Lakes Scriptwriting Competition is now accepting entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays. The annual scriptwriting competition is a way for new and veteran scriptwriters to possibly get the break they need. Each year numerous agencies contact us about our winning scripts.

Prizes for the winning script will include cash award of $500.00, 2 complete passes for the 2006 Great Lakes Film Festival, 2 nights accommodations for the grand prizewinner and a guest at the 2006 Great Lakes Film Festival where you will be honored on awards nights. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

Script Length:

Feature Length scripts 80 pages or more
Shorts length scripts 40 pages or less

Fees and Deadlines:

Short Length:

$25.00 if postmarked by January 2, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$35.00 if postmarked by March 4, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$45.00 if postmarked by May 6, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$55.00 if postmarked by July 1, 2006 (U.S. Currency only) Withoutabox entries ONLY

Feature Length:

$35.00 if postmarked by January 2, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$45.00 if postmarked by March 4, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$55.00 if postmarked by May 6, 2006 (U.S. Currency only)
$65.00 if postmarked by July 1, 2006 (U.S. Currency only) Withoutabox entries ONLY

The early submission deadline is January 2, 2006. For more information please visit us at www.greatlakesfilmfest.com