Once CFC made the decision to include not just Charlotte, but the whole Carolinas, the name of the contest was then changed as well. 

As part of its commitment to growing film in Carolinas, the CFC launched its first “Made in Charlotte” film competition in 2010. Each team was asked to create a short film featuring the Queen of Spades playing card. Jason King and John Schwert won the contest with their film Pair of Queens, a dark comedy featuring friends George and Monty and the events upon waking after being super drunk at a Halloween party the night before. Since the creation of that film, Jason and John have seen to it that George and Monty have gone on to be the stars of even more short films and have again won another CFC contest in 2017 with the film “George and Monty: The Documentary.” 

This competition has covered a variety of genres over the years and always challenged local filmmakers to step outside of their comfort zone. 

One year the theme was “what scares you?” where each filmmaker was asked to create a short film based on a phobia. There were many unique takes on fear… some hilarious while others were scary!

Another year, filmmakers created a music video in tandem to a song of a local or independent artist. The idea behind this theme was to incorporate another area of the arts community in Charlotte. 

With a new theme each year, CFC challenges this community to bring its best work to the table, and we are never disappointed. 

Seeing how local filmmakers collaborate with one another and bring new and innovative ideas to this competition each year is what has made it our favorite annual tradition!