Pfake Pfilm Phestivals

[davemerrill]

What I love about the CPF list, other than shootin' the breeze with my pals, is rejecting membership applications from "film festivals." Recently we rejected the "Directors Circle Film Festival", and today we got a request, an identically worded request, from "Kasey Kolak" at the "Great Lakes Film Festival", an organization that seems remarkably similar to the "Directors Circle". Go 'head, google them both.They're both "online film festivals", which means you send them your movie and a couple hundred bucks in "entry fees" and hey! they both operate out of Erie PA. HOW STRANGE.

I don't know if these things actually happen or not. One of the sites has a bunch of press clippings from 2005, 2006, 2007... nothing very recent. I think what we have here is a cabbage-picking operation designed to separate naive young aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters from their hard earned cash, is what I think.

Comments

[frustratedpilot]

http://www2.gol.com/users/murayama/

When I was new to the Internet (in 1998) I found the above link and attempted to enter the "Manga And Movie Original Story Competition", since they seemed to be supported by Viz' parent company. Never heard anything back from that outfit.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I guess Kasey is a real guy, here he is advertising the Great Lakes festival on another Yahoo group, this one for Cleveland indie filmmakers:

http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/clevelandfilmmaking/message/7452

Here he is spamming a Yahoo group for Bollywood stars?? Many of those in Erie PA?

http://movies.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/bollywood_stars/message/341?source=1&var=1

Here he is shilling for the "Writers Block International Writers Competition"...

http://uk.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/directors2005/message/112

Kasey has been busy.

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

That sounded somewhat familiar, but it's not Great Lakes festival, it's this:

http://www.waterfrontfilm.org/index.php?p=2&s=3

This is legit, and Saugatuck is one of those little 'art community' kind of places with lots of small town charm.

Oh crap it's this weekend? I NEVER get to go. Crap. Just as well, parking is a king bitch.

And JAFAX http://www.jafax.org/ is the NEXT weekend? Where the hell is time going?! How can it be mid-June already?! ARRGHHH

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I did check with PA and the Great Lakes Film Association is actually registered as a non-profit organization. Perhaps they're simply clueless.