On the evening of October 16, 2025, movie magic came to Shreveport, Louisiana. A red carpet, live music, and dazzling clothes gave downtown Texas Street the feel of a Los Angeles premiere as it played host to the annual Louisiana Film Prize.
Founded in 2012 by filmmakers Chris Lyon and Gregory Kallenberg, the Louisiana Film Prize is an annual festival of short films. Over the years, it has become one of the preeminent creative events in northwest Louisiana. With the festival, Lyon and Kallenberg wanted to create not just a showcase for local artists, but a way for the artistic community to band together and grow as one.
“Community is an active participation concept,” said Lyon. “Our focus is helping people express their art and helping the audience experience that art. Then we can build community through that artistic process.”
Staying true to that concept, the festival itself acted as a celebration rather than a competition. Even those filmmakers that came from out of town were embraced as fellow creatives. Though everyone knew that there was a $50,000 grand prize on the line, building connections and uplifting each other were the far more prominent themes of the evening. Filmmakers were encouraged to mingle with each other, greet old friends, and make new acquaintances.
Kallenberg himself solidified the true purpose of the event when he capped it off with a rousing speech before leading the crowd in a chant of “We are the prize!”
Florida director Cory Steele, whose movie Leaving My Mother was a highlight of the competition, echoed the sentiment.
“I just feel like this place is so special,” he said. Though Leaving My Mother did not ultimately win, Michael Cusumano’s Last Minute took home the top prize, the chance to engage with the community was more than worth it. “I’m really excited for what being here means for my future in terms of collaborating with other artists,” he said.
That mentality would be music to Lyon and Kallenberg’s ears. There’s no question that the competition in the Louisiana Film Prize is fierce, but its founders must be proud of how well it has achieved their true goal: bringing people together. Filmmaking is and will always be a collaborative medium. It takes all kinds of people, and lots of them, working together in order to make a good film. By fostering an environment of support and camaraderie, the festival made everyone a winner.
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