I will be using this blog to send out info and answer questions asked leading up to and during the 2019 Love Your Shorts Film Festival. This first post is all of the same info that you received via email but I thought I would include it for easy reference later:
Hello from Sanford, Florida! Congratulations for being accepted into our festival! We hope you will join us and your film at the 2019 Love Your Shorts Film Festival. I want to give you an overview of what will be taking place during the fest and where to find things.
Be sure to read below about the new, free Ride Lime shuttle service downtown, the filmmakers free Sunday brunch, Thursday’s Education Day program on “The State of Filmmaking in the State of Florida,” Friday’s Opening Night party, the filmmakers lounge and all the other weekend details.
FEBRUARY 7-10
WAYNE DENSCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
201 S. MAGNOLIA AVENUE, SANFORD, FL
CHECK-IN: The festival’s free Education Day is Thursday, Feb. 7, but you would’t need to pick up your festival lanyard in front of the theater until after 6 pm Friday, Feb. 8. The lanyard will get you access to all festival activities the rest of the weekend. The Opening Night Party will be held in the annex next door to the theater after we screen our Opening Night films.
FILMMAKER’S LOUNGE: The filmmaker’s lounge will also be in the annex Saturday and Sunday. The lounge is a place for you to relax, meet with fellow filmmakers, and grab some snacks and drinks.
VOTING: At the end of each block of films, the audience votes for their favorite film. Each winning film is again screened at our final Best of the Fest block on Sunday evening at 7 pm where our jury of film professionals will select the winning film to be crowned Best of the Fest. Screening committee awards will also be announced at the Best of the Fest block.
AWARDS: Block winners will receive a cash prize and our Monroe award, which is an original piece of metal artwork. The following Monroe awards will be given out this year:
SELECTED BY AUDIENCE
Best Opening Night
Best E for Everyone
Best Documentary
Best Animation
Best Comedy
Best Sci-Fi / Horror
Best Drama
Best Florida Flavor
SELECTED BY SCREENING COMMITTEE
Best Directing
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Scene
Best Male and Female Actor/Actress
SELECTED BY JUDGES PANEL
Best of the Festival
Schedule of Events
FEBRUARY 7 – Education Day
7 pm FILMMAKER WORKSHOPS
Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center Annex, 201 S. Magnolia Ave.
For those of you who arrive early, we are offering some free activities such as our Education Day sponsored by the University of Central Florida’s College of Arts & Humanities for veteran and novice filmmakers. This year’s workshop topic is “The State of Filmmaking in the State of Florida.” A panel of industry professionals led by Assistant Professor Lisa Mills will discuss the future of filmmaking in the state and what changes may be in store during the state’s new administration. More info on the workshops can be found here as the festival nears: http://www.loveyourshorts.com/education-day/
8 pm UCF Student Films Screening
Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, 201 S. Magnolia Ave.
Join us as we screen a selection of student films from UCF. These films are for exhibition only and not official selections for judging purposes. Come and support great work by talented students!
FEBRUARY 8
7 pm. OPENING NIGHT
9 pm OPENING NIGHT PARTY
Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, 201 S. Magnolia Ave.
The festival’s competition kicks off Friday evening with an Opening Night block of films representing all our festival genres at 7 pm, and our Opening Night party is right afterward in the Annex (next door to the theater). The thank-you party is for filmmakers, sponsors, volunteers and invited guests.
FEBRUARY 9
10:30 pm E FOR EVERYONE
1 pm ANIMATION
3 pm DOCUMENTARY
5 pm FILMMAKERS PANEL
8 pm COMEDY
10 pm SCI-FI/HORROR
Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, 201 S. Magnolia Ave.
Saturday is a full day of films. Our Filmmakers Panel will also be held Saturday at 5 pm at the theater. This is a moderated discussion with several visiting filmmakers about their insights, techniques, experiences, upcoming projects and advice If you will be attending the festival and would consider participating in the Filmmakers Panel, please let us know. (If you cannot participate in the panel but are in attendance to your film block, you will be invited on stage afterward for a brief Q&A session.
FEBRUARY 10
9 am FILMMAKERS BRUNCH
1 pm DRAMA
3 pm FLORIDA FLAVOR
7 pm BEST OF THE FEST
10 pm (UNOFFICIAL) AFTER-PARTY
Filmmakers Brunch. Filmmakers are invited to the home of festival fans Charlie and Kathy Hull, 1014 S. Oak Ave., Sanford, for a free 9 am brunch and an opportunity to mingle with other filmmakers and festival board members. Please RSVP to Brian if you plan to attend.
The day’s film screenings will be held at Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, 201 S. Magnolia Ave.
After-party location TBD
We encourage all visiting filmmakers to stay for the Best of the Fest! We will be screening all of the block winners, and our panel of judges from the film industry will be crowning the Best of the Fest. We will also be announcing our Screener Awards.
Afterwards we’ll toast to what a great weekend we had. We will announce the location of the after party during the festival.
Attending the Festival: Let me know and I will be happy to help you arrange lodging in the area, recommendations on things to do in the area and also with any questions about transportation, including the many direct flights available on Allegiant Airlines to Orlando Sanford International Airport, which is located near downtown Sanford and is one of our sponsors. During the festival, I, along with other festival board members, staff and volunteers, will be in and around the theater about all weekend if you have any questions. You can find us by our festival lanyards!
Getting Around: We encourage you to enjoy our amazing downtown, where many of our sponsors are establishments for eating and drinking. You can call or text the Ride Lime shuttle at 407-500-5463 to get a ride anywhere in the historic district free of charge (we even have tipping covered!) if you are wearing your festival lanyard. Also, there is a trolley that makes a number of stops around our downtown that might also be fun or useful, find a map and stops here.