Anchorage International Film Festival.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: ENTERTAINMENT - Awards

Last year approximately eleven thousand people attended the Anchorage International Film Festival (AIFF), the only multi-genre international film event in the state. AIFF is the product of the hard work of Jim Parker, program director, who finds, screens, and selects the films; Theresa Scott, festival director, who organizes the many facets of the festival; and Tony Sheppard, founder and film enthusiast.

According to Sheppard, AIFF brings "creative, cultural, and entertainment value" to the Alaska community. "About the same time that we started the film festival, the digital age of film making started to take off," he says, so AIFF has been "a little bit of an inspiration or catalyst for local filmmakers."

This year, AIFF will take that to a new level as it initiates the Great Alaskan Short Film Contest. Local Alaskan filmmakers have the opportunity to create short films, fifteen to twenty minutes long, filmed entirely in Alaska. The four finalists will be shown together, with the winner being announced at the end of the screening. In total, $5,000 in cash prizes will be given out. "This is an opportunity for locals to have a bit more...