I LOVE NY Honors New York City Filmmaker with Short Film Competition Regional Award During Independent Film Week

I LOVE NY Honors New York City Filmmaker with Short Film Competition Regional Award During Independent Film Week

Roger Florez Wins First Regional Award; Grand Prize to be Awarded Next Week

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- I LOVE NY (www.iloveny.com), the marketing arm for the State of New York, honored Flushing resident Roger Florez with the New York City Regional Award in the first-ever I Love NY Short Film Competition at a ceremony held Monday evening at the Chelsea Cinemas during the kick-off of Independent Film Week.

Florez's short film, Love in New York was one of several hundred entries in the inaugural "I Love NY Short Film Competition" presented by Empire State Development and Civic Entertainment Group. The competition is part of the State of New York's relaunch of the iconic I Love NY brand to raise awareness of the entire State as a world-class vacation destination.

The New York City regional winner is the first of 10 that will be awarded, including categories for additional statewide regions, as well as a student and young filmmaker winner. The overall grand prize winner will be announced during the week of September 22. A panel of entertainment industry celebrities with a strong New York State connection has taken part in the judging process, including Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emmy-winner Tina Fey and MTV Movie Award-winning filmmaker Doug Liman.

Hundreds of filmmakers showcased their talent and devotion to the Empire State with submissions ranging from picturesque montages to original music and animation. Filmmakers ages 14 and older, regardless of their experience behind a camera, were eligible to participate.

Love in New York features a couple sitting on a New York City park bench eating hot dogs. The man begins to choke on his hotdog, and suddenly his favorite scenes of New York City flash before his eyes. A Good Samaritan abruptly saves the man at film's end.

"New York City is the heartbeat of New York State," said Pat Kaufman, Executive Director of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development. "Love in New York embodies what this city has to offer. We felt that Mr. Florez truly captured the essence of the city in both a creative and evocative way. We've been thrilled overall by the quality of the film submissions we received during this competition and feel they truly capture the essence of New York State filmmaking."

The film was judged based on the criteria that it had the ability to communicate the beauty, diversity, and/or geography of New York State through film/video; effectively showcase unique features and off-the-beaten path places of interest in New York State; and gives an overall impression of originality and creativity.

"It's an honor to have my film recognized in a city and a State where film plays such an important role," remarked Florez. "There are so many talented filmmakers in New York so the competition was fierce. I really wanted to portray New York City as one of the main characters and I'm happy the film contest was able to identify that as I intended it."

According to Thomas Ranese, chief marketing officer of Empire State Development, the competition has helped demonstrate the affection that people feel towards the State while also highlighting regions beyond New York City.

"We created this competition to help people see that New York is more than just home to the greatest city in the world," said Ranese, "but also a truly dynamic and beautiful state. The competition has been an effective way to draw traffic to our Web site, iloveny.com, and raise awareness for the State as a great destination."

New York State is the Independent Film capital of the world, and in April, the State demonstrated its commitment to the industry by tripling the tax incentive on film production in the state from 10% to 30%. Responsible for $5 billion dollars annually of New York State's economy and employing over 100,000 people, New York State is one of the most attractive locations for film production in the country.

Sponsors of the I LOVE NEW YORK Short Film Competition include the Independent Film Channel (IFC), The Independent Feature Project (IFP), jetBlue Airways, The New York Post and Sony. In addition, film festivals across the state have partnered with the competition, including Hamptons Film Festival; Lake Placid Film Forum; New York Film Festival; Rochester High Falls International Film Festival; Syracuse International Film Festival; Tribeca Film Festival; and Woodstock Film Festival.

The Grand Prize winning film will appear as part of a commercial during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast, as well as on jetBlue Airways seatback televisions and the Independent Film Channel (IFC). Several New York State film festivals will also show the winning film. Prizes including Sony professional HD video equipment, a scholarship to a filmmaking workshop, a mentorship with a major filmmaker and New York film festival getaways will be awarded in nine categories including best young filmmaker (18 and younger), best student filmmaker and best regional film. The winners will also have their film stored in the Eastman House in Rochester, New York alongside the personal collection of acclaimed producer Martin Scorsese.

For more information about the "I LOVE NY" Short Film Competition, please visit www.metacafe.com/iloveny.

About New York State

New York State features 11 beautiful vacation regions. New York's attractions span from landmarks such as Niagara Falls, to the wine trails of Hudson Valley and treasures like the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Whether it's wide-ranging outdoor activities for the whole family like fishing, hiking and boating, culinary wonders and farm-to-table fresh foods, or the rich history and culture of one of the 13 original colonies, New York State offers diverse activities for all travelers. For more information visit www.iloveny.com. Media can find press releases and more at thebeat.iloveny.com.

Source: I LOVE NY

CONTACT: Dara Yaffe/Terence Gallagher of Lou Hammond & Associates for I
LOVE NY, Tel +1-212-308-8880, Fax +1-212-891-0200, daray@lhammond.com,
terryg@lhammond.com; Scott Flaherty of Empire State Development Corporation,
Tel +1-518-292-5131, sflaherty@empire.state.ny.us

Web Site: http://www.iloveny.com/
http://www.metacafe.com/iloveny

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