Calling All Local Filmmakers

It may not represent exposure on the scale of Project Greenlight, but if you have a film crying out for some screen time, the new Boston Cinema Census just might earn you a showing at the Brattle Theatre.

Created by the nonprofit collaborative Central Productions and hosted at the Brattle Theatre, the new series will present works by both student and professional filmmakers from across New England. Beginning May 31, 20002, the series will offer a vehicle for emerging visual artists and create an opportunity for audiences to experience local independent filmmaking.

"If you're out of the university system, it can be hard to find a public screen," says Central Productions founder/co-director Michael Bowes. Central Productions, whose stated mission is "to advance an emerging film community and to contribute alternative bodies of work within the culture of the moving image," arose in part from Bowes's own experience. After years of writing, directing, and editing the16mm narrative short "Tuesday," Bowes and his co-workers determined to make it a bit easier for other local filmmakers trying to break into a tough market.

The selection process for the series is "selective, but not competitive," Bowes notes, which is to say that the two-hour program will be curated, but not in a cutthroat manner. What's likely to be on the roster? "Absolutely anything," he says with evident delight.

In addition to screen time, Central Productions hopes to ease the pre-production and production phases for independent filmmakers. They currently list available funding resources on their Web site and the group is working on creating a production manual.