Lake Travis Film Festival Welcomes Entries in 2022

The theme for the Lake Travis Film Festival for 2022 is “Feel the Spark,” which executive director Kat Albert says was inspired by something she noticed during this year’s events.

“’Feel the Spark’ is something that can be interpreted in many ways, but it’s the creative spark that we want to focus on,” Albert said. “The connections people make at the festival – it’s like sparks.”

Carrie Cates, the festival’s programming manager, said the creators who met at the 2021 festival have collaborated on several occasions since this weekend.

“This year, 25% of our films came from central Texas. We had over 70 filmmakers who came physically to the festival, which was a big deal during COVID, especially since we have a lot of films from other countries, ”Cates said. “After all the closure and everything that was going on in the world, the festival was this place of refuge where filmmakers would come together to enjoy each other’s work. … We think it really sparked some amazing collaborations between the filmmakers.

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The festival is accepting applications for its third annual edition, September 15-18. The festival’s categories include short and feature film scripts, documentaries, narrative films, high school films and music videos. The deadline for submission is April 15th. More information can be found online at laketravisfilmfestival.com.

Albert said given the continuing challenges of the pandemic, the 2022 festival will follow a similar format to this year, with the first two days of the festival at Lakeway and the second two days at Bee Cave.

The weekend will open with a screenwriting master class, which Albert said was popular when it was introduced this year with JV Hart. Sunday will close the weekend with an industry day at Star Hill Ranch, Albert said.

“We’re really trying to develop more on this last day. Because one thing we are offering to both cities is to become a movie-friendly city, ”said Albert. “If we could get that designation, then you know it would encourage the film crews to come to the area and shoot more. … We are really working with the unions and just trying to get more professionals to come on that Sunday to see the area and know it’s a great place to shoot a movie.

Albert said she also hopes to get a larger film for the 2022 festival, which was difficult to do amid uncertainties over the pandemic this year. “We want to make a bigger movie (in 2022), maybe to open the event or maybe Saturday night,” she said. “We also want to be more music oriented because we think there are so many musicians living in the area.”

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Cates said she was very excited about the community that springs up around the festival every year.

“Since it’s in Lake Travis rather than Austin, I think it’s a lot different in that a lot of people who aren’t filmmakers who are there really get to experience the culture that we bring. over there, ”she said. “A lot of people have never seen an independent film before and (there is) an excitement for them to experience that and interact with filmmakers for the first time.”

Cates said she had already started the bid scoring process and was impressed with the first crop of work. “We’ve had some amazing projections in the past, but I think that’s going to win out over everything,” she said. “We’re going to see some really amazing work that people have hammered home over the past two years.”

Albert said residents of the Lake Travis area should look for house parties in the summer to engage with the local community and promote the festival. More information on these events will be released as the dates get closer.