2019 DLFF – Call for Entry

Dateline: Sept 20, 2018

~ April screenings are scheduled for Alamogordo event’s winning student films ~

Alamogordo, NM— The Desert Light Film Festival day is April 26th, 2019.

The Desert Light Film Festival organizers announce the 2019 Desert Light Film Festival will be held on Friday, April 26, 2019, in Alamogordo, New Mexico.   Thanks to the financial support of TDS, our local cable, phone, and internet company, Desert Light Film Festival will host its 16th Festival and competition.  This competition gives students an opportunity to showcase their work, compete for prizes, and participate in seminars designed for young filmmakers. Desert Light is open to all New Mexico high school and middle school students, including students who attend public, private or charter schools, or who are home schooled.

Categories include drama/comedy, animation, music video, documentary, experimental film, and 30-second commercial. The criteria for all categories include production quality, creativity and originality, resourcefulness and entertainment value. Films are submitted and judged in either the high school or middle school division.

Sponsored by TDS, Desert Light offers prizes in every category and division. First Place awards are $100 each. Honorable Mention awards are $50 each. Barbara Mick, local TDS Coordinator of Marketing and Public Relations, will be on hand to personally present the awards for the winning films. Seminars this year will include Special Pyrotechnic Effects for Film, and Finding Your Acting Style. Other seminars will be announced.

The most valuable prize of $1,000.00 will also be awarded to that film judged Best of Festival.  This award comes in the form of a scholarship from NMSU Alamogordo which can be used at the Alamogordo campus, or the Las Cruces campus, when the winning student attends college.

The preferred method for submitting all student films for Desert Light Film Festival is via Vimeo.  Information about accessing the Vimeo account will be released later.  Films that cannot be submitted via Vimeo will still be accepted on disk. In this case, please submit individual, single DVDs for each film submission.

Locations of the festival this year include New Mexico State University Alamogordo, the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts and White Sands National Monument. Organizers of the 2019 Desert Light Film Competition include Dr. Ken VanWinkle, President of NMSU Alamogordo, K. Jan Wafful, Otero County Film Liaison; Barbara Mick, market manager for TDS; Jim Mack, Director of the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, Laurie Anderson, Otero County Economic Development Council Business Development Director; Joan Griggs, festival director, and Dr. Bruce Martin.

Submit films anytime from now until Friday, March 15, 2019. Each entry requires a $5 entry fee which should be mailed along with your entry form to the Otero County Film Office, NMSU Alamogordo, 2400 N. Scenic Dr., Alamogordo, NM 88310. The entry form includes a “Use of Submissions” form to be signed by students over 18. Parents or teachers will sign for students under 18.  All forms, including the form explaining the Entry Rules, information about Judging and Awards, and Description of Categories are available. For more information, contact K. Jan Wafful, Otero County Film Liaison at jwafful@ci.alamogordo.nm.us or Joan Griggs at griggs1331@msn.com.

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