The time has finally come. This Friday is the big day! Tickets can still be purchased right here at GPSFF.com. If you need directions to the event, please visit the Septa Trip Planner or Google Maps. Doors will open at 6:30 for the 7:00pm event, so please arrive early, especially if you are purchasing tickets at the door.

Many have asked how the event will be structured, so here is the basic outline. Following a fantastic keynote by Mark Rosenthal (Screenwriter of Mona Lisa Smiles and Planet of the Apes), we will be showing films in each of our five categories: Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Animation, Experimental.

We will go category by category and show clips of the the 2-4 honorable mentions in the category, followed by the two finalists in their entirety. After screening the finalists, we will then announce the winner in the category and have the winning filmmaker come up and give an Academy Awards-style acceptance speech (without the annoying music if they drag on too long).

Following the event, we will have a reception with a FREE taco buffet sponsored by Qdoba. This will give you a chance to mix and mingle with the best student filmmakers and film buffs in the city.

Well that’s it. Tickets will be available at the door, but to ensure seating, we advise you to purchase tickets online.

We hope to see you on Friday, it’s going to be a blast!

Best,

Jason Gurwin and Yanik Ruiz-Ramon
Co-Executive Directors, GPSFF

Hi Filmmakers and GPSFF Fans,

I want to introduce you to the new GPSFF.com. Right now, the changes are mostly cosmetic (plus all the information about the 2008 event), but over the course of the next couple of weeks we will be rolling out a brand new, more user-friendly screening room that will make is easier to view all your past festival favorites.

Also, today marks the opening of the 2008 submission period! We wanted to start extra early this year, so you could have more time to put the finishing touches on your films, especially now that you have all this free time during winter break. Submissions will be accepted until February 1st for FREE or until February 15th with a $10 late fee.

Once again, we have partnered with the Philadelphia Film Festival, to provide more exposure for our filmmakers. The winners of the 2008 GPSFF, will be screened as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival as shorts prior to the major screenings of their event. For instance, last year, our documentary winner, Duet, screened at The Bridge: cinema de lux before crowd favorite, The King of Kong. It is a great opportunity to get your film seen, and get your name out in the Philadelphia film community.

Since you are reading this, you can probably tell we are also launching the GPSFF Directors’ Blog. This will allow us to keep you up-to-date on deadlines, breaking festival news, and in the loop on the judging process. We may also throw a little entertainment industry news in there, just to help you keep on top of what’s happening in the film industry.

The GPSFF planning team has made major progress over the last four months. We have secured our venue for this year’s event, which for the first time will be downtown. The 2008 Awards Ceremony will be held at 401 S. Broad Street at the Levitt Auditorium at the University of the Arts. By moving the venue to a more central location, we feel it will be easier for students from around the city to attend the event. We certainly hope so, because now we have 600 seats to fill!

We also launched a new campus liason program. This program lets students from around the city be the chief marketer for the event on their campus. By doing so, they are given the opportunity to be an official member of the GPSFF board, and can get involved in the student judging committee. The response has been great, but we are looking for students on many campuses across the city. If you are interested in becoming your school’s brand manager, contact us at GPSFF@GPSFF.com

That’s it for now, but we will definitely be keeping you up to date, as we secure our keynote speaker and judges for this year’s event. In the meantime, I would like to thank our partners and sponsors for the 2008 GPSFF: Campus Philly, Philadelphia Film Society, Greater Philadelphia Film Office, the Penn Cinema Studies Department, Rowan University, the College House Film Festival, and Red Bull. Get your films ready, because we are waiting for them!

Best,

Jason Gurwin and Yanik Ruiz Ramon
Co-Executive Directors, GPSFF