KCET Announces Last Call for Fine Cut Festival of Films Short Film Submissions From Southern California Students In Documentary, Animation and Narrative Categories Deadline June 3, 2022
Press Contact
Chelsea Grosbeck
cgrosbeck@pmgsocal.org
747.201.5202
Los Angeles, Calif. – May 25, 2022 – KCET, showcasing the best of PBS while being the leading source for arts, culture and news in Southern California, announced today a last call for submissions to the annual FINE CUT Festival of Films from local film school students. The festival encourages promising filmmakers who are currently enrolled in Southern California film schools to submit short films (25 minutes or less) that were produced from January 2020 to present in the categories of Documentary, Animation and Narrative for consideration. Finalists have a chance to receive prizes as well as to be included in a series of one-hour broadcast episodes airing and streaming on KCET and kcet.org/finecut this fall. The deadline to submit is June 3, 2022 at filmfreeway.com/FineCut.
The FINE CUT Festival of Films is KCET’s flagship program showcasing local student filmmaking, with
funding made possible by The Bridges / Larson Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In previous years, a variety of prize packages valued between $2,500 and $10,000 were awarded to the winners with a Grand Prize package going to one honoree selected as The Jack Larson Southern California Student Filmmaker Award commemorating FINE CUT founder Jack Larson's commitment to fostering new generations of filmmakers in Southern California. This year’s prizes include two $10,000 camera package rentals from Keslow, $1,000 production supply rental from Quixote and a $2,000 grand prize for The Jack Larson Award recipient.
KCET FINE CUT Speaker Series returns this year with two new virtual workshops hosted by two-time Emmy-winning film and TV producer Sasheen Artis to moderate two panel discussions. This element of FINE CUT provides the opportunity for students to dive deep into specific topics to further film education and resources to a new generation of filmmakers. On May 18, during “Keeping Up With Creativity,” the workshop covered how to harness the power of personal emotions and connection to the narrative with panelists Pat Hazell (Writer/Director/Producer/Creator – "Creativity in Captivity" podcast, Seinfeld, The Tonight Show), Laurel Brock (Art Director – The Wonder Years, Blackish), Sterling Anderson (Writer – The Unit, The Gabby Douglas Story) and Evan Ball (Writer/Producer – Stargirl, Colin in Black & White).
To attend the final workshop called “Making the Most of Your Festival” TONIGHT May 25 at 6 p.m PT, click here. The workshop covers tips and tricks for students to maximize their film festival experience and features panelists Andrew Chung (Writer/Director Ma, Lovebites, White Elephant), Larry Laboe (Cofounder and Executive Director NewFilmmakers LA) and Gabriela Ortega –(Writer/Director/Actor (Huella, Papi).
Top films submitted for the FINE CUT Festival of Films will be evaluated by a select, to-be-announced panel of judges consisting of esteemed entertainment industry experts. Honorees in each of the three categories and The Jack Larson Award recipient will be awarded in the fall of 2022 during an awards ceremony/screening event. The event will be followed by a workshop where student filmmakers will get to interact with a select lineup of entertainment industry professionals/potential mentors.
The festival is a tribute to FINE CUT founder Jack Larson who was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer who may be best known for his portrayal of photographer/reporter Jimmy Olsen in the 1952-1958 television series “Adventures of Superman.” In the late 1990s Larson approached Southern California’s KCET with the idea of creating a student film series that would provide talented students with the opportunity to have their short films selected for television broadcast. Larson understood how difficult it was for young filmmakers to get broad exposure for their work because, typically, student work is only seen at special screenings and film festivals. Larson thought that public television was an excellent platform for providing critical visibility to emerging filmmakers. Last year, the online submission process garnered over 400 shorts submitted from over 40 Southern California schools. 67% of the 2020 finalists were female directors while 67% had a director that was a person of color. 83% of last year’s submissions included producers that are female while 50% of the main characters featured were people of color.
RULES: Student filmmakers must be at least 18 years of age and currently enrolled or have been enrolled in a Southern California School January 2019 to present. Films completed prior to January 1, 2020, are not eligible for consideration for FINE CUT. Films that have been submitted for FINE CUT consideration in previous years are not eligible for submission for 2022 FINE CUT consideration. All short films selected by the expert judging panel will be part of one of the four one-hour broadcast episodes and all accepted shorts are eligible for awards in the Competition. Short Films must have a total running time of 25 minutes or less, including credits. Read the full rules and regulations at FilmFreeway.com.
Join the conversation on social media using #FineCut and #KCET
Funding for Fine Cut is generously provided by The Bridges/Larson Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About KCET
KCET is part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California, which was formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. As one of Southern California’s two flagship PBS stations, KCET is on-air, online as well as in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 55-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about KCET’s original productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.