Contact: Joe West, Andrew Wice, Doug Speer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email: info@madridfilmfestival.org
Madrid Film Festival Open Call for Submissions:
Fifth Annual Short Film Showcase Seeks More Local Talent
Impresario Joe West and author Andrew Wice invite all aspiring and established local filmmakers to submit a short film for consideration in the Madrid Film Festival.
Filmmakers whose work is accepted by the festival will receive free tickets and refreshments, and be invited to an exclusive VIP reception. Films that win an award become eligible to join the Madrid Film Festival on Tour at selected venues around the state, [as well as special pre-show screenings at the Violet Crown Cinema in Santa Fe.] Thanks to a grant from The Kind World Foundation, this festival is able to offer monetary prizes: $500 cash awarded to the film that wins the Festival’s grand prize, Le Palme d’Coal, and $500 cash awarded to the film that wins the best local Madrid film prize, the “Oscar” Huber.
Submit an entry by including a link to your film (youtube, vimeo, dropbox, etc) in an email to [info@theaterofdeath.org.] Your film must be a minimum size of 1920 x 1080. Please indicate the genre of your film: comedy, drama, thriller, music video, documentary, animation or experimental (non-genre). Multiple entries are accepted and there is no submission fee. Please include an explanation of how your film is connected to New Mexico. To be eligible for the “Oscar” Huber local Madrid film award, it must be made by people who reside within fifteen miles of Madrid, New Mexico. Please visit madridfilmfestival.org for more information.
Joe West is an award-winning songwriter, performer and director. In addition to his international touring schedule and nine full-length albums (including his newest, Rodeo of the Soul), he propitiously founded the Theater of Death production company. Please visit www.joewestmusic.com and www.theaterofdeath.org.
Andrew Wice is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of seven novels, including To The Last Drop (Bäuu Press, Colorado, 2008), as well as the best-selling smartphone app, The Oral History Tour of Madrid, NM. Please visit www.AndrewWice.com .
Doug Speer is a retired producer, creative director and photographer. After 32 years in corporate communications, he joined the Theater of Death in 2018 as Technical Director for the inaugural Madrid Film Festival and continued with the fall productions of Invasion! and Freakatorium.
Mission Statement
The Madrid Film Festival seeks to encourage local filmmaking by showcasing the best short films produced in New Mexico each year. Supporting amateur and minority filmmakers is a particular emphasis, especially in the small town of Madrid where educational workshops can directly reach aspiring filmmakers.
History of the Festival
Musician Joe West had the idea of a local short film festival and brought it to author Andrew Wice; when they added technical wizard Doug Speer, the trio of producers balanced together. The inaugural 2018 festival was a surprise runaway sold-out hit. They expanded the 2019 festival into three full days, and then took the prize-winning films on a successful short tour around New Mexico. Despite the limitations put in place by Covid, the 2020 Madrid Film Festival was another smash hit, and featured the first-ever virtual festival screening, which streamed for free. In 2021, the Madrid Film Festival screened movies outside for the first time ever, under the stars of the historic Oscar Huber Memorial Ballpark.