Virginia Emerging
Filmmakers Festival
Filmmakers Festival
Virginia
Emerging
Filmmakers
Festival
Emerging
Filmmakers
Festival
Join us in the historic Shenandoah Valley for the 6th Annual Virginia Emerging Filmmakers Festival.
On Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2, 2024, we will present short films from current high school and college students across the United States.
Films must be 15 minutes in length or less.
We will accept films in the categories of animation, comedy/drama, horror, documentary or music video.
Films will be considered by a team of judges from the Shenandoah University faculty and alumni base, the programming team at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and a group of industry professionals.
Selected films will screen for a live audience at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester.
Cash prizes will be awarded for Best Film Winner ($100), Finalist ($50), and Semi-Finalist ($25)
JUDGES
Paul DiFranco
Director
The Film Studio at Shenandoah
Paul DiFranco heads The Film Studio at Shenandoah, which is the film program at Shenandoah University. The Film Studio at Shenandoah provides real-world experience to students. The program helped produce films with national distribution including Santa Girl (Netflix), Cupid for Christmas (Hulu), and GetAWAY (Amazon). Paul is also a full-service music supervisor, having worked extensively with Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, Fox Family Channel, Roger Corman’s Concorde Pictures, and many others.
Ariel Baska
Filmmaker / Podcaster / Author
Director, Ride the Omnibus
Ariel Baska is an multiply disabled filmmaker, journalist, and academic author. Her award-winning films have played at film festivals from Berlin to Mumbai and on Alaska Airlines. She has presented at SXSW (South by Southwest) on various topics in disability and accessibility in the film and television industry, and is the creator of Access:Horror, a film festival and industry summit celebrating the history, future and impact of disability and horror. Her creative multiverse is most visible on Ride the Omnibus, her podcast and non-profit parked at the intersection of pop culture and social justice.
Steve Nerangis
Co-Owner
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Winchester VA
Varla Dogwood Films
Steve is an owner with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, VA, where he has focused primarily on marketing and programming. His career has revolved around entertainment and advertising with professional positions in radio, band management, and record distribution. Steve is also a co-founder of Varla Dogwood Films and has been involved with several award-winning films as a director, editor and producer.
Joseph Neff
Film Manager
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Winchester VA
In his role at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, VA, Joseph oversees film booking, scheduling, and promotion. He has also worked for over a decade in projection. Additionally, Joseph is a music critic and frequent contributor to The Vinyl District website.
Faye Guerra
Managing Director, Web Strategies
Director, Psycho Cinema
Faye is the leader of Psycho Cinema, a group that meets weekly at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester to watch horror, sci-fi, exploitation and classic genre films. When the sun is up, Faye oversees daily operations at Web Strategies, a company with over twenty years of experience in a variety of areas including web development, social media marketing, search engine optimization, custom application development, and graphic design. Faye lives in a tiny black house and collects taxidermy.
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