BLOOMINGTON — Independent Indiana-based film company Pigasus Pictures, producer of the award-winning feature film “The Good Catholic” and the forthcoming “Ms. White Light,” announces the return of Project Pigasus, a statewide screenwriting competition for students in grades 9-12. The 2018 competition is now open, with entries due by Jan. 24, 2018.
Presented by Pigasus Horizons Inc., and in collaboration with professional filmmakers, the winning screenplay will be fully produced by a professional film crew in the contestant’s town. Area students will be invited to apprentice on set, learning every aspect of professional filmmaking. The winning film will be submitted for consideration to major film festivals nationwide, and screened in select theaters and distributed online.
“The purpose of Project Pigasus is to find those students who were just like us,” said Pigasus Pictures CEO and co-founder Zachary Spicer. “Growing up in Indiana, you often feel so far removed from the film industry. We want to show young people that you don’t have to be from a coast, or move to one, to be able to work in this field. And, by producing this short film entirely in-state, our hope is that Project Pigasus will inspire young Hoosier filmmakers, provide opportunities for in-state talent, and generate greater exposure for Indiana’s growing film industry.”
The 2017 Project Pigasus winner was “Through the Window,” written by Kira Daniels of Southwestern High School in Madison, Ind. The film can be viewed at pigasuspictures.com.
When asked what they’re looking for in a screenplay, Pigasus Pictures co-founder and COO John Armstrong says, “Write what you know! We want to read stories that can only be told in Indiana, from the point of view of Indiana’s young people. Be creative, be inventive, but at the same time, keep it simple.”