Ever notice that there are special contests/competitions for younger people under 18? I have noticed this in most entertainment segments including music and film? I understand there are just starting and we want to give them an opportunity to compete just against their peers with similar ages and backgrounds/experiences. But I have always wondered why we limit this to just the kids/teenagers? Where does it say that you can only start your vision, begin to follow your passion or try to get a start in the business when you are under 18? I didn't start chasing my passion until I was 52 and then I went back to school and started from scratch. But even though I was a student, I could not enter all the student competitions since I was over 18 (or sometimes over 21 or even 25). So what about a contest/competition or even festival for the baby boomers or the seniors?
Anything Goes : Competitions For Seniors by Joel Irwin
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Every contest/competition or even festival was started by someone who saw a need and filled it. I would love to see a few contests/competitions or even festivals showcasing people over 40 who are just starting out in this career.
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Alle - to be honest, I am not totally sure a understand all your points here but I think somewhere in there you have made the point that having competitions limited to seniors does not make business or financial sense. You made much discussion about scriptwriting I believe though I am not one and my question was more a general question. The reason I asked since there was a blog here to remind us about the U+ Project for under 18 age filmmakers - so my mind jumped immediately to why not offer something for over 50 aged filmmakers, for example. See: https://www.stage32.com/blog/Stage-32-and-U-Trailer-Film-Festival So as I mentioned both here and at the blog - why not have stage 32 encourage those who are just starting on their own journeys who are seniors. How about something for over 50s? If you are interested and I can't exactly tell from the end if you are, then I'm in! BTW - I don't want to get into a sociological or political debate in this thread but you did make a statement "Most Baby Boomers Are Takers". Well I am one and I have countless friends and acquaintances who are and not a single one is a taker. Never took a penny from my father other than college tuition and room/board (I paid my own way through graduate school) or anytime in the ensuing 40 years nor have a taken money from my children (in fact I have loaned and given them money). And I have no 20 year old girlfriends - will be married 39 years next month. We can take this offline if you want - not here.
Full disclosure - I'm 56, and it was only two years ago I decided to pursue screenwriting as a creative outlet. Perhaps I'll be capable of writing a screenplay well enough that it gains some traction and sells - maybe I won't. But is it not the case that the industry itself encourages writers, regardless of age, to provide content for a predominantly younger demographic? Isn't this why a plethora of superhero mash-ups and comic-derived content is drowning the market in a continual flood? I wonder how old the current and most successful screenwriters were when they broke through. And what the age demographic might be for the majority of writers still earning a living in the industry. Nice post, Joel.
From the Richmond Film Festival's website: www.rvafilmfestival.com The Legacy Xchange Award -Given to the best produced short film or script submitted by an entrant over the age of 65. If you would like to be considered for this award, you must send RIFF a copy of your age verification to info@richmondfilmfestival.com
drat - I'm turning 63 on the 16th.
how about something in between for the 45 and up group of us actors out there. i'm 51 be a few years before i can even enter the seniors competitions etc...
Guffaw... I'm 62 tomorrow (September 7th). I've found that at this point I have much more freedom to do as I wish and have been having fun re-engaging with a culture that is a fond memory from my youth. Guess a couple more years are needed to take a run at Richmond. m ;-)
I'm 59, just moved to LA from Nashville, TN to pursue my dream (www.NeverTooOldToChaseADream.com). I think that there should be "newbie" contests with no regard to AGE, just geared for those of us who enter late. You know, "no experience in this" contests.
Peggy, your blog is really a treat to browse. All the best with your deem chase, m
Joel, How is it even legal to refuse a registered student entry into a student competition because of age? That is simply wrong. That said, myself and a few of my associates who play Eigenharp Alpha stumble on similar agist negativity from time to time which is interesting because it does not happen when playing traditional instruments.
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Peggy where I live we have a really fun once a year project called the H24 it is a 24 hr film fest for ANYONE.. any age and with any level of skill. You are given 24 hrs to write produce and film a up to 4 minute short. You do not know what your theme, location or line of dialogue will be until an hour before kick off. These are thrown in to make sure no one has cheated and written before hand. This is where a lot of our "newbies" cut their teeth...actors, writers, camera etc... So much fun. I took part in it a few years back. Now i'm not a "newbie" but we had the majority of our cast who had done very little to nothing previous... good way for them to try out getting in front of a camera and being a part of something fun. We produced a silent film using a classic pyrate joke as our storyline. Maybe there is something like this in the area where you live? If not maybe starting one up would be an option. http://www.h24.ca/
It's a little creepy the way you keep telling us the age of your gf, Alle. In fact the way you irrelevantly shoehorn mentions of your gf and how loved up you are into posts is creepy too. I haven't seen anyone else here even mention a spouse or partner. Are you trying to prove something? That you can still pull the young girls even at your age? Are you hoping your ex will read it? It seems a very strange attitude somehow for someone with nominally feminist views to reduce your gf to a trophy in this way.
I can only admire your gf Alle, for reading the terrible rubbish you post and still being your girlfriend. You are very brave to let her read it. It's still creepy though.
Guys - this is my thread - go take that somewhere else. This is about senior competitions and not relationship topics. BTW - I did mention my 39 yr marriage in my first response but that was in 'passing' more as a kid and do not plan to respond again off topic.
Seika - I totally agree with you though that is not really a senior topic. It is a great way for someone to get involved in the film industry and begin to network. In fact, this weekend here in Houston we are having a www.splatterfest.com. Though I have chosen to stay out of it personally (its horror/zombie, etc.) I have entered the international competition, the "48 hour film project" now here in Houston for the last 5 years - now I do it to connect with filmmakers. We have had over 50 teams compete during the last few years for the single spot to advance to Filmapalooza to compete (and for the last few years, an European team always seems to win though they take the top 5 films to Cannes). Many of these films qualify for IMDB so for example, 3 of my 4 IMDB shorts in 2013 were competitions. Then last Oct, I entered the 48 hour spinoff, 48 hour mvp (music video project) and I did win that and advanced this past March to Filmapalooza where "Elegantia" placed 2nd to Paris with a total of 12 awards (8 in Houston & 4 at Filmapalooza) http://youtu.be/jXfajMVeT54 And this coming weekend I am coming to LA to network and be at another film festival which was a competition, the christian/scripture based competition, 168film.com (7 day competition). The film I scored, "Gift Of Grace" has been nominated as one of the two finalists in its category ("Kidvid"). So very very yes! These competitions are for everyone and a great way of getting your product out their for other professionals to see and a great way to network with others and learn to be part of a team since filmmaking like many other commercial concerns is about teams.
I was merely pointing out to Peggy that age is not always an issue starting out.. while my info may not be strictly geared to seniors it was pointing out a possible option open to seniors.. so maybe kinda sorta a seniors topic? * insert quizzical shoulder shrug and head slightly cocked to one side LOL
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agreed - this is an excellent way for those of any age to get started and to get involved in ongoing teams creating shorts. It is especially popular in Houston.