BoxFest Detroit Announces 18th Annual Festival

The producers of BoxFest Detroit have announced performance dates for BoxFest Detroit 2020, an annual theater festival that showcases and creates opportunities for women directors. BoxFest Detroit 2020 will present films, filmed theatrical performances, and additional events featuring participating artists and staff. The festival, powered by Seed & Spark, will run entirely online from October 10 through October 18, 2020. Ticket sales will open in late September.

BoxFest Detroit has served and continues to function as a springboard for many women and their directing careers. Directors who have participated in past festivals have gone on to pursue graduate studies at highly competitive universities, become directors at professional theaters, and form their own successful theater and production companies. The producing team for BoxFest Detroit 2020 includes Amanda Grace Ewing, Kelly Rossi, Molly McMahon, and Kennikki Jones-Jones.

"When Kennikki Jones-Jones joined our team in November 2019, she brought the exciting idea of adding a film festival to support the work of women film directors. While we had hoped to host a film festival alongside a live theatre festival, COVID-19 has forced us to consider a different plan," said Artistic Director, Amanda Grace Ewing. "This year, BoxFest Detroit will be hosted on the platform Seed & Spark. This platform will allow us to still host a festival, safely offer live streamed events, and stay connected with our artists and audiences."

BoxFest Detroit 2020 is seeking completed films directed by women, theatrical scripts and screenplay scripts, and women directors who will choose from the submitted scripts to produce a finished film to screen at the festival. Some submission restrictions apply.

Directors may submit their completed films to the festival via Film Freeway at filmfreeway.com. Submissions will be accepted from July 1 through August 24, 2020. Producers welcome submissions from women with a variety of experience in the medium, from makers who are just starting out in film, to theatre directors capturing their work in a new way, to experienced filmmakers.

Producers also seek screenplay and theatrical script submissions from playwrights and screenwriters of any gender identity, as well as women directors, who will have the opportunity to choose a script from the pool of submissions, or write their own script, to produce and film for inclusion in the festival. Submissions by directors and writers without completed films will be accepted until July 15, 2020. These directors and writers should visit boxfestdetroit.com to complete the submission process.

"We hope that this new filmmaking segment will empower women filmmakers, whatever their experience, to share their story," said festival producer, Kennikki Jones-Jones. "Through the motion picture medium, we hope to create and build a community that is safe, impactful, and meaningful. We hope to establish partnerships that will develop into strong collaborations throughout our whole community."

Proceeds from the event are traditionally given to one or more directors through a mentorship program, which provides directors financial support to mitigate the challenges associated with the cost of education and travel. The winner of the audience vote competition has been provided the opportunity to direct a show with Planet Ant Theatre's One-Act Series. The online festival will still hold an audience vote and award laurels for participation and best in category.

BoxFest Detroit is the only festival of its kind in the country and focuses solely on providing women directors opportunities to showcase their work and to gain necessary experience required for success in the field. The festival seeks directors of all skill levels to participate, and early career and established directors are invited to participate. For more information, please visit www.boxfestdetroit.com.

For 18 years and counting, BoxFest Detroit has produced annual summer theater festivals, which create the space and support for women directors of all experience levels to share their work with audiences. Learn more about BoxFest Detroit and its programs at www.boxfestdetroit.com.

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