The winner of the 7th annual Louisiana Film Prize was announced in front of an enthusiastic crowd on the rooftop of the Remington Hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday, October 7th. The Film Prize’s top award of $50,000 cash – determined by a mixture of audience votes and top film industry judges – went to FUNKY BUTT, directed by Jonnie Stapleton.

 

“This was, by far, our most exciting year  – more films entered in the competition, continued growth in the overall quality of filmmaking, and with a majority of female filmmakers among the 20 finalists,” said Gregory Kallenberg, Founder and Executive Director of the Film Prize Foundation. “It was also a year with our largest audience and our closest vote, so Jonnie Stapleton and his cast and crew from ‘Funky Butt’ should be very, very proud of this win.”

 

 

The films that rose to the Top 5, among the 20 finalists that screened over the weekend before a record breaking 4000 attendees this year, were; Rachel Emerson and Paul Peterson’s ESMERALDA, Stapleton’s FUNKY BUTT, Alexander Jeffrey’s GIRL STEAL PAINTING, Sarah Phillips’s LILAC OCEAN PUMPKIN PIE, and Taylor Bracewell and J.C. Doler’s WAR PAINT.

 

 

Isaac Clay won Best Actor for his performance in Stapleton’s FUNKY BUTT, as an old man whose will to live is restored by his granddaughter when she finds his magical trumpet that inspires everyone to forget their troubles and dance whenever he plays it. Best Actress went to Jaya McSharma, the Film Prize’s first Indian award winner, for her performance in her film #BROWNBRIDGETMD as a liberal doctor, who makes an unlikely connection and friendship with the very conservative sister of a beloved patient of hers that just died. Clay and McSharma each received prizes of $1000 to go with their trophies.

 

Before announcing the films chosen for the jury prize’s $3000 Founders’ Circle Award Grants, Kallenberg was informed that for the second year in a row the judges had selected 7 films instead of the traditional 5 to be honored. The Founders’ Circle Grants are given to the chosen films to create projects for consideration for next year’s Film Prize competition. Those films included; Hugo Christian’s CREATURA, Emerson and Paul Peterson’s ESMERALDA Stapleton’s FUNKY BUTT, Jeffrey’s GIRL STEALS PAINTING, Camille Schmoutz and Christine Chen’s GLORIA, Phillips’s LILAC OCEAN PUMPKIN PIE, and Taylor Bracewell and Doler’s WAR PAINT.

Jeffrey’s GIRL STEALS PAINTING also took home the award for Outstanding Visual Effects/Title Sequence, sponsored by the Digital Media Institute.

The Film Prize’s growth through each edition continued this year with the largest number of film projects shot in Louisiana and submitted for consideration. This year’s competition also surpassed the 50/50 goal of female directed/produced films, with 60% of the films directed by or produced by women.

Louisiana Film Prize is a competitive film festival where filmmakers must create a short film (5-15 minutes) and the production must be shot in northwest Louisiana. This year, the Film Prize had over 120 registrations from all over the nation with 2/3 of the entries being from outside of Louisiana. The participating films utilized more than 1,000 individuals in cast and crew. In the process of making those films, over $12 million has been injected into the area over the past 7 years (through the payment of cast, crew, food, lodging and equipment).

Visit www.lafilmprize.com to learn more information about the Louisiana Film Prize contest and festival.