Considered among the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world and a 501c(3) non-profit organization, the 10th annual Great Lakes International Film Festival has officially opened its Call for Entries and will accept submissions internationally of independently produced feature length and short length films and scripts in the genres of documentary, horror, experimental, Religious/Spiritual, animation, and all genre of music videos and Gay/Lesbian for the 2011 festival, September 22nd thru October 1, 2011.

Our film festival has reached a global echelon launching our festival interactively online allowing independent filmmakers and fans to watch and enjoy the films world wide on the go, from work and from the comfort of their own homes. In this technologically advanced world we live in, where communication and convenience MUST be at the tips of our fingers, we knew this was the next evolution in film festivals.

Since launching our fest online we have gained even more popularity among the film viewing public and filmmakers, not to mention production houses and distributors because they no longer have to travel to find the next film that will make Hollywood sit up and take notice. In this day and age, convenience is the name of the game, especially for the independent film industry.

Much like most other festivals, ours was limited by time in how many films we could screen at the fest. Simply put, if a film is good, it will be accepted and screened without time constraints. Films will not be available for download, but shall be presented in a video on demand system that will allow users to watch the films. The V.O.D. system will be secured and can be viewed from any computer.

Unlike other festivals streaming films online, films in this festival cannot be downloaded, the films HAVE NO EMBEDDING CODE and our HTML code if copied and pasted, the films will not play, therefore they CANNOT be placed on other websites.

The only time and place they can be viewed is in our festival. In short, we have gone to great lengths to set this system up to protect the safety and security of each filmmaker's film always keeping the filmmaker in mind. Basically, it is just as secure as a brick and mortar theater screening, only much better.

You hear so much about the environment and global warming it got us thinking. When you realize how much power is used during the film fest – electricity for the building, natural gas for heat and the gasoline the people use to get to the fest it left one hell of a carbon footprint. By doing the whole festival on line, it actually helps cut down on greenhouse gases.

We shall accept all ranges of music videos, along with entries of short and feature length screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays of all genres and niches.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival will accept all forms of religious, Christian, and spiritual films including African, African American, Gay/Lesbian, Black, Hispanic, Islamic, Latino, Native/Aboriginal and student films from the United States and around the world.

The Great Lakes International Film Festival horror categories for scripts and films will include Horror, Thrillers, Science Fiction, Suspense, Grindhouse Horror, Horror Documentary, Horror Animation, and student films and scripts.

The annual screenwriting competition is a way for new and veteran scriptwriters to possibly get the break they need.

If there is anything as universal as the ageless storytelling of motion pictures, it’s the music that makes up life’s soundtrack.

The 2011 Great Lakes International Film Festival shall accept music videos from around the world of cross-continent and cross-genre productions. We shall accept music videos of all ranges from pop, punk, rock, alt-country, country-western, folk, reggae, hip-hop to electronica, jazz, blues, Zydeco, industrial, gothic, karaoke, avant-garde, world music, and experimental.

The Great Lakes Film Festival Scriptwriting Competition offers a $1,000.00 cash award to our first place winner of the 2011 competition among other prizes. The winning script will be forwarded to agents and industry professionals for consideration.

www.greatlakesfilmfest.com