Lights. Camera. Help. Set For Premiere

First film festival for nonprofits announces selections, event locations

07.22.2009 – AUSTIN, Texas - Lights. Camera. Help., the first film festival for nonprofit and cause-driven organizations, has announced its selections of the top films and videos to be screened Friday, July 31, at Southwest Key East Austin Community Center, and Saturday, Aug. 1, at Calhoun Hall at the University of Texas at Austin.

The three-day festival, culminating in a Wrap Party, Sunday, Aug. 2, when the winners will be announced, is intended to bring attention to the films-for-a-cause genre by showcasing the best PSAs, shorts and feature-length films that nonprofits use to help them spread the word about their cause.

Lights. Camera. Help. selected 20 films from more than 140 submissions to show at the three-day festival. The 20 finalists are now in the running for a "judge's prize," the winner of which will receive all the proceeds and donations from the event.

"In addition to giving money to a worthy cause, we created Lights. Camera. Help. because we want to help nonprofits and cause-driven organizations gain visibility through film and video," said Aaron Bramley, co-founder of the festival. "It's a phenomenal way to tell your story, and it doesn't have to be expensive."

Unlike most film festivals that charge $50 or even $100 to submit a film, Lights. Camera. Help. accepted submissions at no cost, making it more accessible than other festivals where documentaries, or other similar genres, might be shown.

All 20 finalists will be screened at the festival, and were submitted by both national and local nonprofit organizations. They include well-known groups like the Lance Armstrong Foundation United Way and Urban League. But film submissions were also selected from smaller organizations like Art from the Streets, an Austin nonprofit which provides resources for homeless artists and platforms for showing and selling their work, and We Are Family, a nonprofit from Charleston, S.C. that provides support for gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.

David Neff, co-founder of the festival, says "the range of videos was surprising" and he expects the films to shock, inspire and motivate viewers.

Here is a schedule listing the films and nonprofits selected and the night's they will be screened:

Showing Friday, July 31st

Aid to Artisans - Aid to Artisans
Survivors of Dating Abuse - Break the Cycle
Manifesto - Lance Armstrong Foundation
Family Portraits - Jewish Family Services of Seattle
Give 5 - United Way Capital Area
Reality, Mobility, Independence - Wheelchair Foundation
Think Pink Lemonade Stand - Women Playing for T.I.M.E.
Think Before You Speak - Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Fowl Play - Mercy for Animals
Mills to Manhattan - Best Friends Animal Society
In A Place Like This - Mobile Film School

Showing Saturday, August 1

Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars - Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition
Red Ink - We Are Family Foundation
Perfect Match - Michigan Humane Society
Time Bomb - charity:water
Impacting the Future - National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Tale of Two Brothers - Los Angeles Urban League
Thoughts in a Hijab - Reel Grrls
The Perfect Parent PSAs - AdoptUSKids
Art From The Streets - Art From The Streets
Click on any item for more information about the film and nonprofit.

The Friday night screening will be held at the Southwest Key East Austin Community Center. The Saturday night screening will be held in Calhoun Hall Room 100 at the University of Texas at Austin. Both begin at 7 p.m. The wrap party will be held at The New Movement Theatre on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 8 p.m.

For more information about the festival and films, visit the Web site www.lightscamerahelp.org or e-mail co-founder Aaron Bramley at aaron@lightscamerahelp.org.

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News Facts

20 finalists selected from over 140 international, national and local submissions.
The organization featured in our the Judge's Selection will receive the proceeds from the three-day event.
All 20 finalists will be screened at the festival.
Tickets are $7/night of $15 for a three-day pass.
It was free to submit a film to Lights. Camera. Help.

Resource Links: The Films; Tickets

Tags: Lights Camera Help. nonprofit, non profit, non-profit, film, video, selections, 2009, cause, cause driven

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