What are the tales of the 954 (or the 754)? The Fort Lauderdale Film Festival wants to put those stories on the big screen.
In 2013, the Broward County Film Society created “Movies of Our Lives” – “Get in the Picture: Tales from the 954” is the sequel.
So how does it work? Anyone can create and submit a video of two minutes or less that captures everyday life across Broward County. Videos will be edited into a collage that will be shown during a three-day festival at Savor Cinema, 503 SE 6th St., Fort Lauderdale.
“On any given day you could be dining in a five-star restaurant. You could be on the beach. You could be in condos, you could be in the Everglades, or out riding horses in the suburbs,” says Hal Axler, managing director of the Broward County Film Society. “We want to get a collage of what life is like in Broward County.”
Videos will be reviewed, selected, and edited by Chris LeClere, artistic director of the program, into several unique films that will be screened at Savor Cinema on Monday, Aug. 11 through Wednesday, Aug. 13.
The project, funded through a grant from Funding Arts Broward and sponsored by Film Lauderdale, aims to tell the diverse stories of people living in Broward.
LeClere stresses the value of seeing Broward through unfamiliar perspectives.
“When you live in an area like Broward there is a tendency not to venture outside of your couple of miles, right? So, this shows the richness of your community through the eyes of somebody who you may not normally have sat down and talked to,” says LeClere. “But this gives you the opportunity to see and hear their perspective of this area and open your eyes to what your community has to offer.”
Although the video length is limited to two minutes, LeClere says that people don’t realize that it’s not always necessary to create an epically long film to tell a story.
“I think short films actually can sometimes tell a better story,” he says. “And I think that showcasing the culture, the landscape of Broward County and all of its uniqueness can be done this way. I think it’s an ideal way to capture the beauty of it.”
Submissions are open until Tuesday, July 1 and videos can be created by both amateur and professional filmmakers. Axler also encourages middle school and high school students to participate.
LeClere encourages filmmakers to “go for it.”
“Get crazy. Get experimental. Don’t let your anxiety prevent you from getting creative. I would love to just see some really thought- provoking and some good classic stories told,” he says.
Video submissions can include live-action narrative films with scripted stories and actors, short animations using hand-drawn or computer-generated images, or documentaries that explore people, events or issues in Broward County.
“It doesn’t even have to be about you. It can be something just kind of fun, some little, short, two-minute thing you have. It could be something that showcases the area and the culture of the folks who live here,” LeClere says.
The films will be organized by themes that emerge during the review and selection process.
“We have no idea until [we] actually see the footage,” says Axler, noting that the project starts as a blank canvas that is created as it goes along.
Axler and LeClere feel that the biggest differences in the 2013 project and this year’s is that more people are now comfortable with the technology needed to make a short film and the ease with which videos can be shared and submitted.
“I think we are at a point now where people know technology and I’m hoping to incorporate voices that may not have been confident enough to use that technology (last time),” says LeClere..
Axler wants residents to know that this project is not just for filmmakers or storytellers—it’s for everyone.
“In today’s environment, we all think everybody’s so separated because of politics and lifestyle . . . , but you know we all just live and enjoy our community most of the time. And I’m hoping that’s what people get out of it—that we all live in a community. It’s all about sharing what we know, and we all do,” he says.
For information on “Get in the Picture: Tales from the 954” or to submit a video, visit fliff.com/getinthepicture.
