WINDRIDER ANNOUNCES STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL FOR WINDRIDER 2016

The Windrider International Student Film Festival (WISFF) will debut this January, 2016 during the Windrider Forum in Park City.  The Angelus Student Film Festival, widely touted as one of the top student film festivals for over 15 years, not only in the U.S., but also internationally, has re-emerged as the Windrider International Student Film Festival (WISFF). As with its progenitor, the new festival will showcase and award student films by emerging filmmakers whose independent voices explore the human condition with creativity and respect. Among the themes that characterize the featured works will be redemption, resilience, social justice, equality, diversity, freedom, spirituality, dignity, triumph of the human spirit, gratitude and purpose.

Categories accepted include live action shorts (drama, comedy, narrative) and documentary shorts, with a $10,000 prize for Best Documentary, a $10,000 prize for Best Cinematic Storytellling and a $10,000 Grand Jury prize. Additionally, WISFF winners will be flown to Park City and given accommodations during the Sundance Film Festival, where they may attend screenings, network and take full advantage of the offerings at this annual mecca of independent film, while also being hosted at screenings of their own winning films at WISFF.
Call for entries opened March 15, 2015, with an early bird deadline of September 15, 2015 ($35) and an official deadline of October 15, 2015 (submission fee: $45) and may be submitted via Film Freeway.
Angelus director Monika Moreno-Lapp will reprise her role as festival director for the Windrider International Student Film Festival, thus continuing a collaboration with WISFF founders John and Ed Priddy, Will Stoller-Lee and Craig Detweiler, who also established the Windrider Forum at Park City at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. One of the centerpieces of the Windrider Forum, described as a week-long exploration of the crossroads between faith and film, has been “An Evening of Angelus,” featuring screenings of films by Angelus winners, who are hosted in Park City by the Windrider Forum. The inaugural WISFF will take place in Park City in January, 2016, during the Sundance Film Festival.

“I can’t think of a better individual to be at the helm of our new festival. Not only does Monika’s deep experience with emerging filmmakers and their bold, evocative work qualify her as director, she has consistently gone above and beyond in cultivating those filmmakers as they embark on their careers,” notes John Priddy, co-founder of the Windrider Institute.
Among the entertainment industry distinctions Angelus alumni have garnered for both their Angelus-winning and subsequent works are Academy Award® wins and nominations, Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and official selections at such prestigious festivals as Toronto, Tribeca, AFI and others. Over 5,000 films were submitted during Angelus’ existence, representing nearly 200 film schools across the nation and close to 30 countries around the globe.

“It’s an honor to serve once more as director of a festival that exists to showcase emerging filmmakers and their works reflecting universal human values.  The films we honor are selected by jurors who put a premium on story and emotional impact, based on their decades of experience and devotion to the cinematic art form. No audience at our festival has ever gone away without being truly moved, a powerful testament to the meaning and relevance of film,” states Moreno-Lapp.

The WISFF official sponsors are the John Templeton Foundation, Film Freeway, Reel Spirituality, Movie Magic Screenwriter and Priddy Brothers Films. For more information on the Windrider International Student Film Festival, including call-for-entries, please visit wisff.com or Film Freeway.

WISFF