Welcome to the first ever Athena Project / Women in Film and Media Colorado creative collaboration!
In honor of our mutual missions to lift up women in the arts, we are staging the first ever MEDIA MASH UP, a celebration of an ancient femme-forward folk story told in three mediums: theatrical, short film, and podcast.
A writer from each medium will be chosen to recast, redefine and retell the folk story Goblin’s Giggle, in which a bride is stolen away by goblins, but is rescued by her mother and a nun. When the goblins drink the river to catch them, they escape by making the goblins laugh. The main characters must be female, and at least one of them must be over 40. Writers must identify as women and live in Colorado, or at least spend substantial time here in the summer (to be present for project development).
The writers will then be partnered with professionals in each medium to develop their projects, and then they will work with directors, actors, and crew from each medium to stage, shoot, and record their finished scripts. Crews will be led by directors and producers who identify as women. In addition, as part of the Media Mash Up format, the main characters in all three productions will be played by the same actors whenever possible.
In August, the community will come together to share the retellings and have a chance to hear about the very different processes involved in the creation of each project. This premiere party will include a reception.
The Media Mash Up is sponsored by Athena Project, the Colorado nonprofit that celebrates and nurtures women’s artistic expression, working actively for equality of opportunity, recognition and pay based on artistic merit alone, and Women in Film and Media Colorado (WIFMCO), dedicated to the advancement of all women working in the film, TV, media, web, and video game industries in Colorado.
With this project, we aspire to co-create a unique and femme-forward opportunity for local artists. We expect to hire no fewer than 25 local artists in the production of these stories, and create volunteer opportunities for 50 or more.
Writers may choose which medium they want to write in, and then they’ll have until March 30th to create either a 10-page one-act for stage, a 10-page low budget short film, or a 10-page radio play / podcast script for consideration. In order to keep the short film budget low, feel free to interpret the legend into a modern day retelling, and be sure to keep the number of locations to as few as possible. We will not have the budget for CGI, so you must be creative in your interpretation or depiction of certain story events (i.e. the goblins drinking the river).
A panel of professionals will review all materials, select winners, and then partner the winning writers with production teams. Rights to the playscript will belong to the playwright, and the film and podcast rights will belong to WIFMCO / ATHENA, but all efforts to submit to film festivals and streaming distribution will be made.
It is free to enter! Deadline is March 30th, so submit now for the chance to have your work celebrating women, past and present, produced by fellow local artists!
You win a staged and/or shot production of your script, as well as the opportunity to work with professionals in your arena in its creation!
Also, a big party in August to show off your hard work!!