Competition Overview
The Steeltown Film Factory (SFF), organized by the Steeltown Entertainment Project, is a filmmaking competition developed to encourage and nurture the growth of the entertainment sector of Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA). The Film Factory is a year-long filmmaking competition and a series of public workshops, panel discussions, and staged readings all centered on engaging aspiring filmmakers to create and develop projects with Pittsburgh-inspired content while providing audiences of all backgrounds to meet successful entertainment industry professionals and learn about the creative film and media development process.
We anticipate that the benefits of a successful Film Factory will lead to employing and developing our local workforce, development of future projects in the region, and the incubation of talent and intellectual property that can be spun off into for-profit entities that will create permanent jobs, investment opportunities and exportable products. By bringing together local and expatriate resources in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the SFF will help to transform this region's non-profit "Arts" sector into a for-profit "Entertainment Business" sector.
The Film Factory takes filmmakers on a journey, helping them to discover their projects' inner workings, as entrants compete for an opportunity to create the makings of a commercially viable project. The catch: the stories all have to be related to and produced in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The grand-prize: an opportunity to have your short films produced and premiered at the 2012 Three Rivers Film Festival.
Steeltown Spotlight
"The Film Factory has done a wonderful job of nurturing emerging talent in Pittsburgh, while at the same time, reconnecting established people in the entertainment industry with the hometown they still love."
- Jamie Widdoes
Director: 'Two & a Half Men'
Co-Star:'Animal House'
