Film contest seeks to foster small-scale indie productions

The Wyoming Film Office is taking submissions for the annual Wyoming Short Film Contest.  To be eligible, films must be under fifteen minutes, shot in Wyoming, set in Wyoming, or include Wyoming as a character.  The winner will receive a $25,000 prize, for use on their next film shot in Wyoming.      

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 Film Office spokesman Colin Stricklin says Wyoming offers financial incentives for large-scale productions that shoot in the state, but he says this contest is meant to encourage smaller productions – even amateur films.    “Not everybody has a budget of $200,000,” Stricklin says, “so for those filmmakers that can’t quite hit our film incentive, we instituted this contest as a means to give something back.  The idea being that the $25,000 grand prize can go a long way toward an indie’s production budget.”    

The winning film will premiere at the Cheyenne International Film Festival in May.  Submissions are due April fifth.  There are no entry fees for this competition.