It’s FILM SLAM time!

After two years online, the annual Catamount Arts and SOCAPA Tap Into Film 72 Hour Film Slam went hybrid with both in person and online components last year. It was so successful, we decided to do it again! The excitement of gathering together as a community to celebrate and watch student-made films for the first time in years was “out of this world.” To celebrate, we’ve decided to change things up and really focus on the world around us!

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be partnering with wildlife filmmaker Matt Aeberhard, film producer, award-winning novelist Melanie Finn, and local naturalist/State Representative Bobby Farlice-Rubio to host a wildlife themed 72 hour film competition! Check out this exceptional video from Matt himself telling you about the event his year.

This year’s event begins May 11th with an in-person (virtual options will also be available) kickoff event at the main Catamount Arts building on Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury. After the event, participants will have access to a Wildlife Filmmaking Workshop where judges will field questions and brainstorm ideas. Like last year, the final screening and awards ceremony (where scholarships and cash prizes will be awarded) will take place at the new 24,000-square-foot ArtPort venue at the Green Mountain Mall, on Sunday, May 14th.

Registered teams will have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and submit their film before the final screening and awards ceremony. Prizes will be awarded in multiple categories in two competition brackets: Family Fun or Competitive. Click here for more information, including a full schedule!

As always, participation in the Tap Into Film 72-Hour Family Film Slam is by donation to Catamount Arts. We hope you’ll join in on the WILD fun this year! Don’t wait… REGISTER YOUR TEAM TODAY!

More info about our awesome judges!

Emmy-nominated Matt Aeberhard, is one of the world’s leading wildlife cinematographers. Through his lens as a filmmaker and while shooting around the globe for outfits such as Netflix and the BBC, he has seen the effects of a human-dominated world on our wildlife up close. Melanie Finn was lead producer and script writer for The Crimson Wing (2008) and spent thirteen months with directors Matt Aeberhard and Leader Ward shooting the film on the banks of remote Lake Natron in Tanzania. Melanie’s novel The Hare was also the winner of The Vermont Book Award 2022. With a background in film, Bobby Farlice-Rubio was a science educator at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in St. Johnsbury, Vermont for 18 years. There he gave planetarium presentations, led outdoor explorations, and taught countless lessons on nature, science, and history to people of all ages. With amazing judges like these, the Film Slam is bound to be WILD!