Call for Submissions for new “Harte of the Gulf” Film Competition

Press Release
Date
Harte of the Gulf logo

UPDATE: The Submission Deadline has been extended through SEPTEMBER 30.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Aspiring filmmakers are invited to turn their lens to the Gulf of Mexico and submit their works to the first-ever Harte of the Gulf Film Competition.

Short film submissions are being accepted for the competition through September 30, and the top film will win a cash prize of $500. Films profiling the Gulf of Mexico’s environment, history, economy, culture and more are welcomed.

The films will be screened for audiences at a competition event on the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi campus on October 14.

Sponsored by the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and coordinated by a team of HRI student leaders, the Harte of the Gulf Film Competition’s mission is to engage the Gulf of Mexico community through education and film and to showcase the works of local film makers. The film competition is a continuation of the Blue Gulf Film Competition held last year.

“This film competition was conceived of entirely by our students, and they are totally in charge of making it happen. Community and professional engagement are important parts of HRI’s mission and I could not be more proud of them,” said HRI Executive Director Dr. Larry McKinney.

HRI students organizing the film competition include Michelle Culver and Claire Rydman, master’s students in HRI’s Coastal and Marine Geospatial Sciences Lab and Diana Del Angel, a doctoral student in HRI’s Socio-Economics Group.

“Last year at the Blue Gulf Film Competition, I learned about the Flower Garden Banks, an extraordinary coral reef in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. I had no idea this existed till I saw the short film!” Rydman said. “Diana, Michelle and I are very excited to continue the film competition and hope to help inspire and engage the community in all the important roles the Gulf of Mexico plays in our lives.”

Films should be no longer than 15 minutes and address topics concerning the Gulf of Mexico region. Films can be fiction or nonfiction. Some possible examples of film topics are:

  • Water quality and availability
  • Fishing practices
  • Coastal land use patterns
  • Sustainability
  • Coastal resiliency
  • Conservation, preservation, and restoration
  • Social perspectives, and
  • Economic or ecological value of ecosystems from the coast all the way to the deep sea.

The Gulf is an international sea, and in an effort to include filmmakers from around the entire Gulf of Mexico region, films will be accepted in languages other than English, but must have English subtitles.

Films can be submitted in one of two categories: High School or General Public. First, second and third place winners will be awarded a monetary prize in each category. Please see the Submission Guidelines form for further instructions on submitting a film to the competition.

If you have a short film addressing an ocean or coastal issue concerning the Gulf of Mexico, from your own backyard to the deep sea, please think about entering it into our Harte of the Gulf Film Competition. For more information, follow the Harte of the Gulf Film Competition on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @HarteoftheGulf, or visit HarteResearchInstitute.org/HarteoftheGulf.