Lights! Camera! Prizes?

Wednesday, March 21 — To set the stage for this year's Capital City Film Festival (April 12-15), the first Fortnight Film Contest gives Michigan residents a chance to create an original movie between 31.4 seconds and 10 minutes long, with potential prizes totaling $3,500.

Sounds simple, right?  Here’s the catch: contestants only have two weeks, from Friday through April 6, to shoot, edit and finalize their entry.

“So far we have a handful of teens that have signed up, some students from Lansing Community College and a couple filmmakers from Detroit," said Dan Hartley, one of CCFF’s programming directors. "We’re not sure how many to expect, but we’re screening the top 10 or 20 at our festival, and we’re expecting quite a bit of interest because the prize money is really high and it’s two weeks instead of a 48/5.” Hartley is referring to contests in which filmmakers have two days to make a five-minute film.

In order to ensure fairness, contestants will be required to include a specific item (prop, saying, location, etc.) in their movie: Exactly what that is will be announced at the beginning of the Fortnight kickoff at 6:15 p.m. Friday at the Lansing Public Media Center, 2500 South Washington Avenue.

Register online at the CCFF website.