Make a Movie Starring Your Block this Fall

Shooting on Union between Clinton and Henry, via Facebook

The first On My Block filmmaking challenge kicks off this month, which means you’ve got from now until Halloween to channel your inner Coppola/Spurlock/Godard/whoever by making a one to five minute short (narrative or documentary). Here’s the catch, which is also the cool part: the entire* cast and crew has to live on your block.

From the OMB website:

Although we live in a city of over 8 million people, a lot of us don’t even know our neighbors. When you’re not connected to the people living on the other side of the wall, it’s hard to have any sense of belonging within a community. “On My Block” creates an opportunity for neighbors to introduce themselves, work together, and create trusting relationships through the collaborative filmmaking process. The films created will live on past the festival window as a source for community pride and as a living map of the world’s most creative city.

Creativity over anonymity! Here’s how it’s going to work:

Beginning August 1, all eligible films will be posted and screened online from the time they are finished until November 1, 2012. The public will be able to vote on a film by liking it on Vimeo. The 30 films with the most Vimeo likes will move on to be judged by the Judging Panel the first week of November. The top-scoring 15 films will be screened at a physical outdoor festival in November. Awards will be presented to Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary Film and Best In Show.

And while pros are very encouraged to participate, you definitely don’t have to be an auteur to make your OMB debut — amateurs, hobbyists, and first-timers are more than welcome, and the OMB website has a ton of resources for first-timers. (At the same time, here in the Slope, we’re spoiled — find me a Park Slope block that doesn’t have an actor/editor/screenwriter/multi-media producer on it.)

Are you in? Need a sound guy? Looking for an actor? Desperate to experiment with film editing? Let us know in the comments! We would be thrilled to be your cinematic yenta.

*You get two non-residents per entry. OMB+2.