With 17 entries ranging from a documentary to music videos to a spoof of the B horror movies of the 1950s to a man born with the face of a clown, the 2009 Statesboro Film Festival was an exciting evening for short film lovers of all genres.
      So, the Statesboro Herald and the Averitt Center for the Arts will team up again for the Second Annual 2010 Statesboro Film Festival to find and honor the best locally-made films. The festival is scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, April 15 at the Averitt Center in downtown Statesboro.
      Like last year, the festival offers everyone a chance to do what Hollywood does - make your own film.
     Matt Bankhead again will serve as event coordinator. He is a video producer for Statesboroherald.com and the lead producer for the daily Studio Statesboro vodcast.
     “Overall, we were very pleased how our first festival turned out,” Bankhead said. “One of our goals was to provide a creative outlet for filmmakers in the community. That’s our goal again this year. I really encourage everyone to give it a shot.”
       Simply put, the Statesboro Film Festival wants your films.
      "I didn’t know what to expect last year and I actually was afraid about the level of quality we might get," said Jim Healy, executive editor of the Statesboro Herald. "But the entries were great. Even the ones that didn’t have a ton of production obviously had a lot of thought behind them. If you’re thinking about putting together a film, please do it. It’ll be a lot of fun for you to make and a lot of fun for us to watch."
      Some of the basic submission rules for the festival include, all films can be no longer than eight minutes, there is a $15 submission charge and the deadline to submit a film is 5 p.m. Thursday, April 1. Also, entered films can not be shown on YouTube, Facebook or any other mass media site until after the April 15 festival.
      All rules and information about the festival can be viewed at www.statesborofilmfestival.com – the festival's official Web site.
      After all requirements are met, all the films will be viewable on the festival's Web site. A panel of three judges will review all films and narrow the field eligible to win the grand prize to no more than 20 films. The group of final films will then be put on the Web site and people can vote for their favorite film. The film with the most votes will be the grand prize winner.
      The winning film and lots of other submitted videos will be shown at the 2010 Statesboro Film Festival inside the Averitt Center on April 15. More than 200 people attended last year’s festival.
      Tim Chapman, executive director for the Averitt Center, is excited about year 2 of the festival.
      "It was such a fun event last year and I was most impressed with the quality of films entered," Chapman said. “Establishing a film festival here on an annual basis just improves the creative aspect of our quality of life. I know the 2010 festival will be just as successful.”
      Submissions soon will be accepted online and residents of all ages are encouraged to participate.