Local filmmakers invited to submit work for chance at $500 cash prize during April 8 event

After taking a year off, the Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival returns April 8, 2017 to the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks with an all-new format featuring a celebration for both filmmakers and film buffs. The evening will include screenings of all the top submissions in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, as well as raffle giveaways, trivia contests, cocktail bar and more. Local and regional filmmakers interested in sharing their art and their talent at the festival are invited to submit their best work through March 1 for a chance to win a grand prize of $500.

“We’re excited about how the 2017 Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival is coming together,” says ArtsQuest Programming Director Ryan Hill. “Our goal is to create a more festive atmosphere at the event for both the audience and the artists. We want to honor these filmmakers and show everyone a great time.”

The GLVFF is open to new and seasoned filmmakers from the Lehigh Valley, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and central and western New Jersey. Entries can be submitted starting today at www.steelstacks.org/film. Submission fee is $10 per film through Feb. 1, 9 p.m., and $20 per film from Feb. 2-March 1 at 9 p.m. Entries can be up to 30 minutes long and must have been filmed after Jan. 1, 2014.

During the GLVFF, the ArtsQuest Cinema Committee will present one winner with the Best in Show Award, along with a $500 cash prize. The award will be determined by a jurying panel of ArtsQuest Cinema Committee members and regional film professionals.

The Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas are a two-screen independent, foreign and arthouse cinema located in the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. For more information on the festival and how to enter, visit www.steelstacks.org/film.