GET LA SHORT FILM COMPETITION
New Los Angeles magazine Foundation & LA WORKS Want To Know What You Love or Hate About The City.
A panel of well-known Angelenos, representing civic, creative and corporate communities, including Richard Dreyfuss, CSI-NY Hill Harper, Chef Evan Kleiman, David Strasberg, MALDEF's Thomas Saenz and more, to judge a month-long video contest online at lamag.com/citythink/getla
LOS ANGELES, USA Home to Hollywood, the world's entertainment capital, Los Angeles tapped into the creative juices of its city by launching GET LA, the first online digital short film competition all about Los Angeles. GET LA kicked off with a press conference on February 3, 2010, at the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House at Barnsdall Park in Hollywood with speeches by David Arquette, actor; LA Council President Eric Garcetti; Bob L. Johnson, Co Chair LA Works; and Mary Melton, Editor in Chief, Los Angeles magazine. The event celebrated familiar and iconic aspects of Los Angeles with LA themed music by a local DJ, food by the eco-friendly Green Truck, mingling of celebrities, civic leaders and residents and a 360 degree view including the Hollywood sign, downtown LA and the beach.
David Arquette invited fellow Angelenos to participate in the competition. I love this city, the people, the architecture and the spirit. LA is an incredible place and I am doing what I can to support this great city. I am really excited to be part of the GET LA film competition and to see the films about Los Angeles. It will be a lot of fun and a great way to support young filmmakers and all Angelenos, and to promote the arts in our city, said Arquette.
"I'm excited to join the Los Angeles Magazine Foundation and L.A. Works in announcing this fun competition that celebrates the city, the lifestyle, and the state of mind that we call 'Los Angeles,'" said City Council President Eric Garcetti. "Through this competition, we will not only see innovation and creativity at its best, but Angelenos will be encouraged to really think about what this city means to them and how they want to be involved."
GET LA aims to bring together our city's diverse communities by using film to engage in a conversation about life in Los Angeles. This unique web film festival hopes to inspire residents of Los Angeles, including filmmakers and everyday citizens, to create 3 minute videos to describe their city, presenting what they love and hate about LA. GET LA is a special project sponsored by L.A. Works, a leading local volunteer action organization, and the new LA Magazine Foundation.
L.A. Works is sponsoring the GET LA Film competition, because we want to encourage Angelenos to think critically about what Los Angeles means to them. A web-based film competition allows us to engage diverse, and perhaps new, voices in our civic dialogue. Popular media is a familiar and comfortable tool in this city. We can use it to promote civic engagement and service in Los Angeles, says Bob L. Johnson, Co-Founder & Co-Chair of L.A. Works.
GET LA film competition is open to Los Angeles County residents. The films can biographical, documentary, fictional, or aspirational portraits of the city and its residents. In order to be accessible to diverse members of the community entry of a film into the competition is free. Submissions for the competition will run from February 3-March 3, 2010. Finalists will be announced and posted online March 15 to be judged by viewers (who will choose an Audience Favorite) and a panel of notable Angelenos as judges (who will choose an Official Selection). The winners will be announced in early April. Film entries will be submitted and viewed at lamag.com/citythink/getla.
Prizes include:
- Coverage in Los Angeles magazine
- A special screening and reception at City Hall
- A film screening in a major theater and
- A meeting with a top entertainment agent or studio executive.
Whether you veer toward noir or light comedy, Geffen-eque success stories or Bukowski-tinged tales from the gutter, whether you re deeply engaged or completely detached, says Los Angeles magazine editor Mary Melton, here s your chance to make sense of Los Angeles as you see it, and your own particular place within the urban landscape.
At the event, Chris Nichols, LA Magazine's "Ask Chris" columnist, debuted his GET LA demo movie, entitled "Los Angeles: Designed for Dreaming." Based on a General Motors promo from the 1950s about the future and starring 21 prominent Angelenos, Chris's film will be available on the competition's website as an example of GET LA's creative potential.
A prestigious panel of judges representing the diversity of Los Angeles, includes representatives from the entertainment industry, urban architecture, sports, and community activism was formed in support of the project. Three of the judges attended the press kick-off, David Arquette, Eric Garcetti, and John Kobara. The 17 judges include:
- David Arquette, Actor
- Janet Clayton, Award Winning Journalist & President of Think Cure, LA Dodgers' Cancer Charity
- Lauren Dolgen, VP Series Development, MTV
- Richard Dreyfuss, Academy Award Winning Actor
- Leo F. Estrada, Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA School of Public Affairs
- Hon. Eric Garcetti, President Los Angeles City Council
- Liz Goldwyn, Producer & Designer
- Hill Harper, Best-selling Author & Actor (CSI)
- Evan Kleiman, Chef, Restaurateur & Host of KCRW's "Good Food"
- John Kobara, EVP California Community Foundation
- Joe Morgenstern, Pulitzer Prize Winning Film Critic
- Arianne Phillips, Golden Globe Nominated Costume Designer & Celebrity Stylist
- Ron Radziner, Award Winning Architect & FAIA, Design Principal, Marmol Radziner
- Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund)
- Pierre Andre Senizergues, President CEO Sole Technology
- David Strasberg, CEO, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute
- Jeff Wachtel, President, Original Programming USA Network & Co-Head, Content for Universal Cable Productions
ABOUT L.A. WORKS
L.A. Works is Los Angeles leading volunteer action center. Founded in 1991, L.A. Works creates and implements hands-on community service projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The mission consists of three principal goals: 1) to increase volunteer participation in community service projects; 2) to provide nonprofit agencies with access to volunteer labor and other resources; and 3) to educate and encourage civic participation in the broader social issues affecting the greater Los Angeles Community. More information is available at www.laworks.com.
