“Meet the Digits” won best public service announcement, “A Read on Inside Books” won best short film, and “On Coal River” won best feature film at the 2011 Lights. Camera. Help. (TM) Film Festival, the first festival exclusively for nonprofit and cause-driven films, which concluded on Saturday, July 30.
“We had amazing films this year,” said David Neff, co-founder and CEO of Lights. Camera. Help. “It was a lot harder to choose. Competition was really tough this year.”
Local nonprofit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin won best PSA for “Meet the Digits.” Inside Books Project, also from Austin, won best short film for “A Read on Inside Books.” And the West Virginia nonprofit Coal River Mountain Watch won best feature-length film for “On Coal River.”
“Meet the Digits” promotes Ronald McDonald House’s mission of keeping families together while their children are undergoing hospital care. The film uses finger puppets to tell the story of the Digit family, who stay at the Ronald McDonald House to be with their daughter Lucy while she recovers from a traumatic fall.
Aaron Bramley, co-founder of Lights. Camera. Help., said the PSA was “unlike any that we’ve ever seen before. We are really happy that it comes from our very own Austin community.”
Their award will go toward the construction of a new facility at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, said Kent Burress, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“A Read on Inside Books,” directed by Barbara Koonce and Lorri Haden, depicts the efforts of Inside Book Project to provide books for Texas inmates.
Winning the award is “such a great opportunity to increase exposure for our organization,” said Lorri Haden at the wrap party on Saturday.
The winning feature-length film, “On Coal River,” directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood, documents the toxic fallout in a West Virginia coal-mining community.
All proceeds and contributions collected from this year’s festival will be awarded to the three organizations featured in the winning films. Amounts will be announced this week.
For the first time, each of the winning films will also be spotlighted for one day on YouTube, one of this year’s sponsors.
Another unique prize for one of the winners is a partnership with Apliiq, a new-media fashion company that collects rare, dead stock and recognizable textiles and applies them to everyday garments. Apliiq will choose one of the winning organizations for the creation of a clothing line and together they will benefit from sales.
Submissions for the festival came from all over the world, with 26 chosen as finalists. The films covered issues ranging from water crisis, human rights, fighting disease, tribal struggles and animal welfare.
Five of the 26 finalists were from Austin-area organizations: The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin, Colin’s Hope, Inside Books Project, Saint Louise House and The Cipher – Austin’s Hip Hop Project.
The festival also featured a short film by Jeff Dupre, who won an Emmy for the PBS documentary “Carrier,” and a PSA by Judd Apatow, famous for comedies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
“We raised more money in ticket sales than we have any of our previous years,” said Bramley. “We were really pleased with the turnout.”
Judging was based on the quality of the film’s cinematography and sound and on the clarity of the message or call to action. The judges were Monica Williams, founding editor of GivingCity Austin; MariBen Ramsey, vice president and chief operating officer of Austin Community Foundations; and Elizabeth Hansen, outreach and education director of Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
Lights. Camera. Help. is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit with a goal to encourage other nonprofits to use video and film to spread their messages. They provide educational programming to help nonprofits and cause-driven organizations create their own films. They also have a program called Project Action, which pairs talented filmmakers with nonprofits to create great stories.
To learn more about the Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival visit www.lightscamerahelp.org.
“We had amazing films this year,” said David Neff, co-founder and CEO of Lights. Camera. Help. “It was a lot harder to choose. Competition was really tough this year.”
Local nonprofit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin won best PSA for “Meet the Digits.” Inside Books Project, also from Austin, won best short film for “A Read on Inside Books.” And the West Virginia nonprofit Coal River Mountain Watch won best feature-length film for “On Coal River.”
“Meet the Digits” promotes Ronald McDonald House’s mission of keeping families together while their children are undergoing hospital care. The film uses finger puppets to tell the story of the Digit family, who stay at the Ronald McDonald House to be with their daughter Lucy while she recovers from a traumatic fall.
Aaron Bramley, co-founder of Lights. Camera. Help., said the PSA was “unlike any that we’ve ever seen before. We are really happy that it comes from our very own Austin community.”
Their award will go toward the construction of a new facility at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, said Kent Burress, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“A Read on Inside Books,” directed by Barbara Koonce and Lorri Haden, depicts the efforts of Inside Book Project to provide books for Texas inmates.
Winning the award is “such a great opportunity to increase exposure for our organization,” said Lorri Haden at the wrap party on Saturday.
The winning feature-length film, “On Coal River,” directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood, documents the toxic fallout in a West Virginia coal-mining community.
All proceeds and contributions collected from this year’s festival will be awarded to the three organizations featured in the winning films. Amounts will be announced this week.
For the first time, each of the winning films will also be spotlighted for one day on YouTube, one of this year’s sponsors.
Another unique prize for one of the winners is a partnership with Apliiq, a new-media fashion company that collects rare, dead stock and recognizable textiles and applies them to everyday garments. Apliiq will choose one of the winning organizations for the creation of a clothing line and together they will benefit from sales.
Submissions for the festival came from all over the world, with 26 chosen as finalists. The films covered issues ranging from water crisis, human rights, fighting disease, tribal struggles and animal welfare.
Five of the 26 finalists were from Austin-area organizations: The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin, Colin’s Hope, Inside Books Project, Saint Louise House and The Cipher – Austin’s Hip Hop Project.
The festival also featured a short film by Jeff Dupre, who won an Emmy for the PBS documentary “Carrier,” and a PSA by Judd Apatow, famous for comedies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
“We raised more money in ticket sales than we have any of our previous years,” said Bramley. “We were really pleased with the turnout.”
Judging was based on the quality of the film’s cinematography and sound and on the clarity of the message or call to action. The judges were Monica Williams, founding editor of GivingCity Austin; MariBen Ramsey, vice president and chief operating officer of Austin Community Foundations; and Elizabeth Hansen, outreach and education director of Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
Lights. Camera. Help. is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit with a goal to encourage other nonprofits to use video and film to spread their messages. They provide educational programming to help nonprofits and cause-driven organizations create their own films. They also have a program called Project Action, which pairs talented filmmakers with nonprofits to create great stories.
To learn more about the Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival visit www.lightscamerahelp.org.