2008 Cinema Alfresco Presents...

"By the People, For the People: Election Selections"

FREE Thursday Evening Screenings under the Stars

Season Kick-Off May 22 at Old Cowtown Museum

Click on 'View our Events' for May through July schedule

The Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts and Tallgrass Film Festival presents the 2008 season of Cinema Alfresco: “By the People, For the People: Election Selections.”

In keeping with the 2008 theme, the League of Women Voters will be present starting 30 minutes before each screening for those who wish to register to vote.

The season kick-off, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, will screen at 8:30 p.m., May 22 at Old Cowtown Museum, co-sponsor of the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets, picnics, and coolers and to enter at the back service entrance. Admittance is free.

The remainder of the Cinema Alfresco season will take place each Thursday starting May 29 at The Brickyard, 129 N. Rock Island in Old Town. An open air club, The Brickyard will offer food and drink specials including Stella Artois, the official beer of the Tallgrass Film Festival. Films will begin at 8:30 p.m.

Tallgrass Film Fest Call For Submissions

2008 TALLGRASS FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

NEW VENUES & RETURNING SPONSORS

GREENGRASS INITIATIVE…
INCREASED CASH PRIZES…
ALL NEW NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD…
KANSAS & HIGH SCHOOL FILMMAKERS SUBMIT FOR FREE!

WICHITA, KAN, March 5, 2008 - The Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts (WAMPA) and the Tallgrass Film Festival announced the call for submissions for the 2008 Tallgrass Film Festival to be held October 23-26 in Wichita, Kansas at the Warren Old Town Theatres and other downtown venues. Over the last five years, more than 18,000 local and regional attendees and over 150 filmmakers from Kansas and all over the world have enjoyed the Tallgrass Film Festival.

Now entering its sixth year, the Tallgrass Film Festival is dedicated to entertaining, educating and enlightening audiences in America’s Heartland by showcasing the very best of independent cinema - including domestic and foreign, documentary and narrative, short and feature length, animation, GLBT and immigrant voices, environmental, and High School cinema.

In addition to screening the best independent films from around the country, the 2008 Tallgrass Film Festival will feature a number parties and events - including a gala party at the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, and a “Welcome to Wichita” party for all of the filmmakers, featuring Mayor Carl Brewer on the BBQ. Other confirmed venues for October’s event include the 20th Century Center, City Arts, and The Orpheum. Confirmed Sponsors include Warren Theaters, Integrated Media Group, Clear Channel Radio/Wichita, Stella Artois, Spangenberg Phillips Architecture, Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, WichitaTIX.com, KPTS, Cricket Communications, Specs, Classic Real Estate, and 360wichita.com.

New to this year’s festival is the environmentally conscious GREENGRASS category, which will screen films pertaining to environmental issues. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, the festival will partner with environmentally friendly companies and organizations, to promote their messages.

WAMPA also announced that they have increased their cash awards: $1,000 will be given to the Audience Award Winning Feature Film, and $500 will be awarded to the Audience Award Winning Short Film.

Highlights from the 2007 festival included the ever-popular Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers, presented by the Kansas Film Commission; the Joel Fein High School Shorts Program; the Audience Award winning feature film Girls Rock!; , the Audience Award winning short film The Date, and the 2008 Oscar nominated short film I met the Walrus. Official festival selections are made by the local Tallgrass Film Festival Programming Committee, made up of Wichitans from all walks of life. Programmers work diligently throughout the year to tailor the film festival to the Wichita audiences who delight in the festival’s diverse independent film programming.

Founded in 2003 by the late Timothy Gruver, the Tallgrass Film Festival is a program of the Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts (WAMPA), a non-profit 501©3 arts organization dedicated to entertaining and enlightening audiences from America’s Heartland. Through the festival, the summertime Cinema Al Fresco Series, WAMPA Filmmaker Academy and Special Screenings, WAMPA spotlights the city’s venues, cultural attractions and artistic communities. WAMPA strives to foster the ever-growing, local filmmaking community, sparking a dialogue among filmmakers and enhancing artistic expression.

Contact: Lela Meadow - Enzyme Entertainment - (323) 810-6909 - lela@enzymeent.com

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2008 TALLGRASS FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Films must have been completed after January 1, 2007.

The entry deadline for film submissions is July 20, 2008 with a late submission deadline of August 3, 2008. (Fee: Features $50. Shorts $25/ Late Submission Fee: Features $100, Shorts $50).

The Early Bird Deadline offers reduced submission fees; however, films must be submitted by April 13, 2008, to qualify for the discount. (Fees: Features: $40 and Shorts: $15).

The 2008 Tallgrass Film Festival will screen approximately 15 features and 40 shorts. To submit a film, please visit www.withoutabox.com and follow official submission instructions. Entries must be submitted on either DVD (NTSC format) or VHS and will be screened in either 35 mm, DigiBeta, Beta SP, or DVD as a final presentation format. Two copies of each entry should be sent to: 3337 East Central, Suite 107, #151, Wichita, KS, 67208.

Film screening must be a Wichita premiere. World and US Premieres are not required, however premieres (especially Kansas premieres) are preferred and premiere status may be one of the factors considered when determining a film's inclusion in the Festival.

Submissions from Kansas filmmakers, and high school filmmakers from around the country will not require a submission fee, however, all official submission forms must be entered at www.withoutabox.com and filmmakers must submit a valid Kansas address or a copy of a valid high school ID, respectively, to request the fee waiver.