One unforgettable week of film, food, comedy and music

It’s been 10 years, but Shreveport’s Alexander Jeffery remembers the moment his film was announced as the winner of Prize Fest well.

“It was extremely overwhelming. I had come off my first weekend of Prize Fest, and I was hungover. … I was very hungover. It was a big party. … I was exhausted. I had heard so many nice things about my movie all weekend.”

Alexander doesn’t drink anymore, so he won’t be foggy-headed if his entry wins this year’s competition.

“Typically, as a short filmmaker, if you get your film into any other festival, you get one, maybe two screenings, and on a great day, over the course of the festival, 200 people see your film. At Prize Fest, 3,000 people see your film in one weekend. That is so valuable. As filmmakers, we make these films for audiences and to get that audience feedback, and to hear people talking about the movies, I think, is one of the coolest things about it.”

The 14th Prize Fest, featuring competition in film, food, comedy and music, will take place October 15-19 at various Shreveport-Bossier locations. Money will be up for grabs in each category, including $50,000 to the winning filmmaker if they shot their movie in Shreveport-Bossier ($25,000 if they didn’t). But money can’t buy everything.

“(Winning) really gave my career new legs in that people took me a lot more seriously as a filmmaker,” Alexander said.

“They saw this as a much more viable career path. It helped me get my first feature film made in 2019. That credibility of winning Film Prize gave me the clout I needed to go get that first feature film made.”

Prize Fest has certainly grown over the years, but the past two years, “we’ve reached a new height,” said Prize Fest founder and Executive Director Gregory Kallenberg.

“The community’s participation has blown me away. This was a crazy idea that would have had a hard time taking hold anywhere — all these things coming together and all these creative, crazy people landing in a town and running amuck. Shreveport and Bossier have shown up, stayed late and been loud — something I couldn’t have imagined in the very beginning.”

Here’s a look at what you can expect in each category of this year’s Prize Fest:

FILM PRIZE

During the past year, filmmakers from across the country made short (5- to 15-minute) films and entered them in Prize Fest. From those, 20 were chosen to be screened by a panel of industry judges and the public. The films will be shown at four Shreveport-Bossier locations on Oct. 17 and 18. You can watch the films online beginning Oct. 15.

“What is interesting about Shreveport is the independent film scene here is unparalleled pretty much anywhere in the United States,” Kallenberg said. “I say that, knowing Austin, Texas, has independent filmmakers. New Orleans has independent filmmakers. But when those independent filmmakers come up to Shreveport and meet these locals — the local filmmakers — they’re blown away. They are so impressed by the cohesiveness and the collaborations that happen here, because it just doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

FOOD PRIZE

It’s hard to believe, considering how much we enjoy eating, but this category hasn’t always been a part of Prize Fest.

“It took me five years to figure out that Louisiana and food went together,” Kallenberg said.

“One of the beautiful things about Shreveport is that it’s one of these really embracing places that love to gather around the table. Food is easy to understand. It’s easy to connect over. It’s easy to be a part of and plug into it.”

Oct. 15, at the Come & Get It Culinary Experience, six local chef semi-finalists will partner with six celebrity mentor chefs to prepare dishes for you to taste. Your votes, along with those of the judges, will determine which three chefs advance to the finals. On Oct. 18, the Battle for the Golden Fork will be held on the streets of downtown Shreveport, with each chef having just 45 minutes to cook up a winning meal worthy of the $5,000 grand prize.

But that’s not all. This year, you can take part in Celebrity Chef BBQ.

Three celebrity chefs – including Tristen Epps, winner of Bravo television network’s “Top Chef” contest – will work with four local chefs to create BBQ mains, sides and desserts for 200 people.

“I was the fourth person Tristen called (after winning ‘Top Chef’),” Kallenberg remembered. “He was calling not to tell me he had gotten too big for Prize Fest. He called to say he was coming to Food Prize, and he was bringing five of his celebrity chef pals who were also on the show. The achieving of that level of celebrity chef is something that shocked me. What’s even better than that is the idea that Tristen and his celebrity chefs are coming to Shreveport for Food Prize, not because they’re getting paid big money. I don’t have big money to pay them. They are coming here because they love this community, they love our people, and they want to help our chefs.”

COMEDY PRIZE

If laughing truly is the best medicine, Kallenberg expects Comedy Prize to cure any ailment you may have.

“The (talent) level is so high, we don’t have any local comedians,” Kallenberg explained. “They are coming from New York, Los Angeles, and we might have one from Canada thrown in there for good measure becautse they’re funny.”

Eight stand-up comedians will perform two shows on Oct. 16, not just to get laughs, but to grab the winner-take-all $2,500 cash prize.

“These are people who play thousand-person venues around the country. Reggie Conquest was just in Florida, sold out, doing two nights of comedy. The reason he comes here and plays in front of our 200 people is not only to play in front of a crowd he feels will love him – he loves doing his work – but the judges are people who book for Jimmy Fallon and the Comedy Cellar in New York. These are high-minded people who are doing amazing things, and they want to be around those amazing people, too.”

MUSIC PRIZE

Oct. 17 and 18, 11 musicians — most of whom are not from Shreveport-Bossier — will play for a chance to win $14,000 in cash prizes, including the $10,000 grand prize.

“We had over 1,000 bands apply from around the country to play in Shreveport, La.,” Kallenberg said. “If you look at the history of the Music Prize, we’re kind of genre agnostic. The beauty of Music Prize is if you don’t like the band, wait 20 minutes — there’s another one that’s coming on right after them.”

The musical acts include a performer (Lynn Drury) who recently played Jazz Fest, a band (Ever More Nest) which played the Kennedy Center, and Cure for Paranoia, a Dallas alternative hip-hop collective which won the Austin (Texas) Music Award.

Kallenberg admits he takes Music Prize more personally than the other competitions.

“Shreveport had a music scene at some point, then lost it all to, of all places, Memphis, Tenn. Hopefully, Prize Fest is a small part of us rebuilding that Shreveport music history by having an independent showcase of bands that are right on the cusp. They just need that boost. Hopefully, that’s what Music Prize does.”

To learn more about Prize Fest and to purchase tickets, you may visit prizefest.com.