Louisiana Film Prize kicks off Thursday

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - One of Shreveport’s biggest festivals is back again for another year.

Prize Fest will be taking over downtown Shreveport from Oct. 3 to Oct. 6.

The annual festival celebrates some of the country’s best chefs, fashion designers, musicians and filmmakers.

The Louisiana Film Prize will kick things off Thursday, Oct. 3 with 20 finalists movies being shown at the Robinson Film Center, the Scottish Rite Temple, Central Art Station, Bossier Arts Council’s East Bank District Theater and Underground: Nouveau beginning at 3 p.m.

Movies will continue being shown Thursday, Oct. 4 beginning at 9 a.m. at all the locations.

This year’s finalists will all be competing for the grand prize of $50,000. Votes from audience members and film and industry judges will determine the winner.

Here are the 2019 finalists along with a description of their films:

A DIMINISHED ART

Director: Jeremy Enis

An aging black man struggles to come to terms with the future he never saw for himself – one in which his dear wife is gone, and his step-son is white and gay.

AND THAT IS WHY I SUCCEED

Director: Travis Bible

A basketball coach gives a unique halftime speech to his team.

ANNIVERSARY

Director: James Harlon Palmer

Their life is a musical – and it’s gone straight to their heads.

ASCENSION

Directors: Jeremy Spring, Rex Davey

All Johnny wanted was a free boat, man.

BEST IN SHOW

Directors: Jacob and Jaya McSharma

An unconventional fashion show model no longer makes the cut and finds out what happens when the price of fitting in is too high to pay.

BLACK PAJAMAS

Director: Hattie Haggard Gobble

Post U.S.-Vietnam War, a young man is determined to heal from PTSD despite his atypical bouts of disassociation.

CICERO

Directors: Makenzie Smith, Finch Nissen

A hitman finds himself trapped inside an elevator with the man he’s been contracted to kill.

FAST FORWARD STYLE

Director: Kari Kennon

A glamorous 50-year-old widow named Caroline goes on 6 dates with a variety of men.

GHOSTED

Director: Blayne Weaver

A lonely man uses his special gift to pursue his dark infatuation with a coworker.

INVITATION

Director: Chad Hill

Pastor Paul is trying to save Ambrose’s soul. It’s not going well.

LEO AND GRACE

Director: Gabriel Savodivker

A couple in love, torn apart by race, find each other 30 years later and must do the impossible to stay together; even if it means risking their freedom forever.

MAVEN VOYAGE

Director: Rachel Emerson

Maeve Fairbanks is working toward living out her sister’s lifelong goal by submitting a video to be considered for the first piloted mission to Mars, her approach is a bit…offbeat.

MR. MARVELOUS

Director: Evan Falbaum

On Christmas Eve, after a long shift as a mall Santa, Mike’s house is broken into by a pair of robbers who are in for a big surprise.

NOWHERE ARKANSAS

Director: Robert Linsley

Nowhere, Arkansas, 1863. A Confederate veteran, haunted by his past, hunts redemption in the form of a famous eagle that belongs to the Union Army.

RIP

Director: Hannah Dorsett

Becky, a southern belle with southern grit, has loft goals of joining a ladies tennis team at the local country club.

SAME TIME NEXT WEEK

Director: Kalah Roberts

A flustered first time mom attends a therapy session, with her toddler in tow.

SHREVEPOET

Director: Abigail Kruger

Through movement we find the resilience and creativity of the people of Louisiana, when moving through a difficult time.

ST. ESTHER DAY

Director: Camille Schmoutz

An immigrant housekeeper struggles to adjust to the outlandish snobbery of her widowed mistress and forms an unlikely friendship with the woman’s sheltered daughter.

STIFF ARM

Director: Matthew Ramsaur

A lifelong group of friends won’t let a one in a million genetic disorder get in the way of Jacob’s wedding day.

SUPPLEMENTS

Director: Sarah Philips

The year is 2289, and all that’s left on Planet Earth is the domed city Old Centauri, roaming sun flares that scorch the land, and the nomadic tribes that mitigate the two. Kiirke comes from one such tribe, and she must travel to Old Centauri, along with her brother, to seek a small fortune to save her her family.

Louisiana Film Prize will also award film making grants and $1,000 awards for “Best Actor” and “Best Actress."

If you would like to check out these films this week you can purchase tickets HERE.

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