Carlton County filmmakers wanted for Highway 61 Film Festival

Cloquet and Carlton County filmmakers are hitting the road again. The 2012 Highway 61 Film Festival, to be held Friday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 14, is now taking submissions.

The festival, now in its second year, is open to filmmakers everywhere, though a special emphasis is being put on local filmmakers.

Cloquet filmmaker Summer Hagen won second place last year with her charming short comedy “Lumber Jill.”

The festival is open to both short (less than 40 minutes) and feature films. Categories include: Drama, Comedy, Action/Horror, Documentary and Animation. A new category this year is for Student Short films by students grades K-12.

“Young people are making great short videos for school – and even just for fun,” said Kris Seuntjens, one of the festival organizers. “Students can submit them for free, and we’ll try to get as many of these films as we can onto the big screen!”

Submissions will be reviewed by judges, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top film in each category: $100 for features, $50 for short films.

Director Matt Cici, whose film “Lambent Fuse” won Best Drama Feature at the 2011 Highway 61 Film Festival, has seen his movie featured at other film festivals and is looking forward to its Los Angeles debut.

“I really liked getting out of the Twin Cities into a very art-friendly and welcoming community to premiere the festival in its first year,” Cici said. “We had a lot of fun, and it was a good night – a lot of people actually came up to watch the film.”

Filmmakers can get entry forms online at www.highway61filmfestival.org, and submit their films by mailing or dropping them off at the Pine Center for the Arts at 265 5th St.SE, Pine City, MN 55063.

Submission fees are $5 for short films and $10 per feature film, though all Student Short films are free to submit.

Seuntjens said everyone who’s ever thought about making a movie should pick up a camera and submit their film to the festival.

“The arts are for everyone,” she said. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Submissions close Aug. 1.

For more information, visit www.highway61filmfestival.org, the Highway 61 Film Festival page on Facebook, or follow on Twitter. Questions? E-mail hwy61filmfest@gmail.com.

The Highway 61 Film Festival is sponsored by the Pine Center for the Arts, with support from the East Central Arts Council. Pine Technical College and Danny C’s BeachRocks will provide the venues for the event.

Tags: carlton county