20 Short Films
$50,000 cash prize.
You're the Judge!

Attend Film Prize in-person October 16-17th or watch online starting October 15th, watch all 20 short films, and then you can vote for the grand prize winner of $50,000 cash. Plus you can vote for the best acting performance category!

The Day I Met Aretha Franklin

Directed by Brian Egland & Carlos Jimenez

Two women in a beauty salon transform a playwright’s day before the world premiere of his play.

Best Performance Nomination:

Written by Brian Egland
Produced by
Janet Lopez, Carlos Jimenez, Brian Egland, Yeshaya Bagwell
Starring La’Zaron Goodman, Jordan Joseph, Natalie Spencer
Cinematography by Yeshaya Bagwell
Edited by Carlos Jimenez

About the Filmmaker

Brian Egland

Mostly a playwright, this short serves as Brian Egland’s first screenplay. He is a native of the “Crawfish Capital of the World” Breaux Bridge, a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is a recent alum of The National Black Theatre’s I AM SOUL series, which presented his sold out New York debut, The Festival in da Back, directed by Nic Ashe, and can be seen in the major motion pictures “We Have A Ghost” starring Anthony Mackie and starring Nicholas Cage.

Film Trailer

Filmmaker Interview

Stills Gallery