Which film will take the Grand Prize at the 2012 Statesboro Film Festival? Well, it's now in the hands of the voters — you.
Matt Bankhead, lead producer for Studio Statesboro and director of the 2012 festival, said all entries have been received and the approved films are posted for everyone to view and vote on.
"I'm really pleased with the entries," Bankhead said. "The filmmakers put a lot of thought into their movies and it shows."
The next step is for the public to go online to 2012 Statesboro Film Festival, watch the films and then vote for their favorite. People can vote up to 10 times per day from a single URL address. Voting is now open through midnight on Wednesday, April 18. The film with the most votes will be the Grand Prize winner and the filmmaker will receive a 42-inch LCD television from Farmers Furniture.
“If you want to be the Grand Prize winner, organize your family, friends and especially all your friends on Facebook and get them to vote,” Bankhead said. “Like American Idol, we wanted to let the public pick the Grand Prize winner. As they say, vote early and vote often.”
Vote totals will not be shown, so the winner can be revealed on the evening of the Statesboro Film Festival — Thursday, April 19. The festival will be held at the Averitt Center for the Arts. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m., with the festival getting underway at 7 p.m.
At least 10 films will be shown on the big screen inside the Emma Kelly Theater.
"We're still working on the exact number we'll screen," Bankhead said.
In addition to the Grand Prize, a panel of three judges is viewing all films and will give awards for Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Film. The awards will be announced after all films are screened, culminating with the Grand Prize winner.
Light refreshments will be served at the pre-festival reception and Millhouse Steakhouse is catering the intermission.
Tickets for the April 19 film festival are $5 and can be purchased at the Statesboro Herald and the Averitt Center box office or by calling (912) 212-2787.
"It's a great event for Statesboro to show off some great young filmmakers," said Tim Chapman, executive director of the Averitt Center.
The 2012 Statesboro Film Festival is sponsored by the Statesboro Herald, the Averitt Center for the Arts, Farmers Furniture, Millhouse Steakhouse, Gailey Trophy and Connect Statesboro.