Copious Notes

Would you like to have your film shown at the Kentucky Theatre over and over? 2007 photo by Janet Worne.

Several interesting film opportunities floated across the culture desk late last week:

What’s your policy?: How would you tell people to silence their cell phones and pagers and take their trash to the nearest receptacle? The films movie theaters use to convey these little housekeeping items are called policy trailers, and LexArts is sponsoring a contest to make a new policy trailer for the Kentucky Theatre.

The competition is open to any filmmaker 18 or older. There’s a $1,000 award for the winner, but the real prize will probably be having your film converted to 35mm and shown before every feature at the Kentucky Theatre. News of the contest reminded me of seeing some contest-winner policy trailers at the Toronto International Film Festival that were amusing, inventive, and a lot more fun than cheesy music or Front Row Joe.

Proposal submissions, including script and storyboard, must be sent to LexArts postmarked no later than Oct. 30. The winning film is expected to begin showing in January. Click here for complete information and forms.

Do-ers profile: The Lexington Film League is also looking for short films, these about people doing interesting things in their communities around Kentucky. The contest is open to filmmakers and non-filmmakers. Submissions should be no more than five-minutes in length and are due by Jan. 15. Click here for complete submission details. The contest is in conjunction with Make Yourself Necessary.

Larry Barnes. Photo courtesy of Transylvania University.

Barnes scores: This isn’t a contest, but it is a chance to hear the work of a Transylvania University artist on a film at the Kentucky. Transy music professor Larry Barnes scored the documentary Euphoria, which will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Tickets will be $6 general admission, $5 students. The documentary by Lee Boot, is described as an out-of-the-box art and science film that asks, is the American Dream working?

Barnes composed the score after the film had already been completed and won a gold medal at the Houston Film Festival. Boot had heard Barnes’ work and asked him to compose a score. CDs of the score and DVDs of the film will be available at the screening.