Fusion Fest, an Orange County program, invites local filmmakers to join the 2022 project.
The following is an open letter to the filmmaker community:
Dear Filmmakers,
FusionFest, an Orange County-sponsored event, is looking for filmmakers to create 3-5 minute short videos.
I, on behalf of FusionFest, search for people to represent 10 regions of the world, 2 from each region, to be the subject of a film. At the very least, I need 20 filmmakers. The more filmmakers I have the more stories I can tell. And that is why I am reaching out to you today.
On Friday, August 26th, we will have the filmmakers and the subjects meet. The filmmakers arrive at 6 PM and pick a number between 1 – 20. They then get a dossier on the person that was assigned that number. The Dossier includes a professionally written bio, email, phone #, talents address, possibly other locations with the addresses for filming and release forms for locations and talent, and any other notes I may have about that person, At 6:30 PM the subjects enter. We are hoping to do this in person this year, rather than zoom. You then have that time to get to know each other and plan the shoot for 2-3 hours.
Prior to meeting their subject, I will have prepped the subjects and ask them to bring any digital assets, pictures, videos, etc, or any memorabilia for ‘B’ role. Is there a dish with a few ingredients that they can make to be filmed? I tell them to prep as much as possible in advance. Is there a market, restaurant, or another place that they go to to keep heritage alive? How do they share that with friends and family? I also try and get other family members involved so we get the multi-generational aspect. Makes for a richer story.
The filmmakers then have 5 days to shoot and edit a 3-5 minute video. Submission is 8/31 by 11:59 PM (ET). Late submissions will still get shown at all screenings and be eligible for the Audience Choice Award at the Global Peace FIlm Festival, but are not eligible for the FusionFest Grand & Student prizes.
From there the films go on to the Global Peace Film Festival, 3rd & 4th week in September, for (2) screenings of their films. At the end of the 2nd screening, an audience award of $100 is given to both the filmmaker and the subject of the film.
After that, it is onto FusionFest, November 26th & 27th (Thanksgiving Weekend), the films will be shown throughout the (2) days. On Sunday at the end of FusionFest, a grand prize of $1000 is awarded for the best overall film and $200 is awarded for the best student film. Certificates of acknowledgment for 2nd and 3rd places for each category are given as well.
From there we use the films to promote FusionFest throughout the year and further spread the concept of a more diverse community. These films will also be archived in the Orange County Regional History Center for posterity.
We have started a series of watch parties every 3rd Tuesday of the month. We show (1) or (2) films and have the Filmmaker and Subject there for Q & A. So many stories come out of this contest besides the films. As the curator, it warms my heart. WATCH PARTY
We are now accepting applications for both filmmakers and people with stories of MYgration. Applications can be found at this link. Click Filmmaker for Filmmakers (duh! lol) and Share Your Story for Subjects, if you know of anyone that has a story they want to share.
Here is a link to the films from past years. 2019 & 2020 FF Film Contest Films
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me.
I hope to see your application in my inbox.
Warm regards,
Lori M. Turchin
Global Peace Film Festival Manager
FusionFest Film Contest Curator
Lori.GPFFManager@gmail.com
(407)325-9822