Fairy Tale Film Making Contest

No, this isn't one you can enter, but one that recently took place in Maryland.  From Fairy tales in the social consciousness of today by Lauren LaRocca:

If Snow White were alive today, would it be a factory farmer that gave her an apple laden with pesticides? Would Cinderella be a sweat shop worker?
For the fifth annual 72 Film Fest, area filmmakers were challenged to breakdown a fairy tale to its basic elements and re-tell it to fit present day.

"A lot are very well-known fairy tales, but there are also some obscure ones," said festival organizer Clark Kline. "Last year, we used Polaroid photos to see how they influenced the artists. This year, we're sort of continuing that theme of influence, to see how people can influence pre-existing works ... how people in our generation can redefine their chosen fairy tale."

Filmmakers were given three days -- from Thursday night to Sunday night -- to write, shoot, edit and submit a film.

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In conjunction with Film Fest, the C. Burr Artz Trust and Frederick Reads are bringing best-selling author Alice Hoffman to the Weinberg Center for the Arts tonight for a reading, Q&A and book signing. Known for her use of magic and reimagined fairy tale characters, Hoffman will also choose the winner of the Best Use of the Fairy Tale Theme, presented tonight after her reading.

"I'm so happy to be involved with creating new content. This is such an obvious way to do that," said Elizabeth Cromwell, manager, corporate and community partnerships, at the C. Burr Artz Public Library. She came to the Film Fest Launch Party last Thursday dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, among a sea of costumed guests. "A lot of people think libraries are archives ... but they're not."

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As teams got their first criteria -- various fairy tales -- the room got louder, the sound of frantic brainstorming sessions.

The second portion of the criteria added another element, such as the film must end happily ever after, must use "the ninth of October" in dialogue, and a clock must strike.

Films were judged throughout the week and will be awarded prizes for acting, cinematography, editing, writing, music, etc., plus an audience favorite award will move one team from Friday to Saturday night. Eduardo Sanchez, who co-wrote, co-edited and co-directed "The Blair Witch Project," and Hoffman are guest judges this year.

The article is longer and the screening event is past, but what an interesting project...

In conjunction with Hoffman's visit, the LaRocca also wrote another article, Hoffman provides new take on old fairy tales:

One would think fairies, witches, unicorns and magical realms are the stuff of children's stories.
Not always so, according to New York Times best-selling author Alice Hoffman, as she has proved with dozens of books for children as well as teens and adults.

Fairy tales use "deep, psychological themes that resonate," Hoffman said. "I think they're the most important stories. In a sense, they're the only stories."

She brings fairy tales into the 21st century, with modern characters and settings but the same emotional tugs and quick-moving plots as their predecessors.