Posted by | Ray Cornelius 

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) proudly announces the inaugural 72-Hour Build-a-Film Challenge presented in partnership with The Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program. The challenge is an opportunity for emerging filmmakers to compete for a chance at having a winning short-film submission premiered at the 2018 Annual AAFCA Awards dinner and celebration held in Los Angeles, California.

Submissions for the Challenge started on this past Monday, December 11^th, and will roll out in three phases, beginning with first two rounds of judging conducted by members of AAFCA. The winner will then be selected by an impressive panel of Hollywood directors: Rob Hardy (“The Quad,” “Power”); Salli Richardson (“Scandal,” “Queen Sugar”); Roger Bobb (“The Rickey Smiley Show,” “Mann and Wife”) and Jeff Byrd (“Rebel,” “The Originals”). The Film Challenge winner receives an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles and the honor of accepting the first-ever AAFCA 72-Hour Short Film Award during the ninth AAFCA Awards on Wednesday, February 7, 2018.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with the Retool Your School program on the launch of the 72-Hour Build-a-Film Challenge,” says AAFCA president, Gil Robertson. “This competition builds on one of our core missions of providing exposure to new and emerging voices. We are also excited that the Film Challenge will generate greater visibility for The Home Depot’s Retool Your School Program and spotlight their great work helping our nation’s HBCUs with much-needed resources to make upgrades to their campuses.”

All submissions will be judged based on story content, creativity, ingenuity, technical abilities and uniqueness. The top three finalists will be given a $500.00 gift card to shop for supplies and materials needed for their shoot at The Home Depot’s Pinewood Studios location in Atlanta, Georgia. They will then be required to bring their vision to life and create a three-to-five-minute film short to win.

Click here for all of the contest guidelines and rules!

GOOD LUCK!