Have you ever wanted to be a judge in a film festival? This might be your chance.

NEW BEDFORD — The New Bedford Film Festival is seeking community members to assist as judges for its inaugural year.

"We wanted to open up judging to the community as a way of directly involving them in the festival as active audience members," said Ethan de Aguiar, founder of the festival.

"We want to be as inclusive as we possibly can in all aspects and reinforce the idea that this festival is not just for the filmmakers who submit projects, but for the city as a whole."

De Aguiar said that interested judges can visit the official website to fill out a survey to be considered for a judge position. Interested judges can choose how many films they wish to watch and what genre they prefer.

Judges will then be sent films to watch and score via FilmFreeway.com.

"People should become a judge because it is a great way to get involved in the festival and provide direct feedback to the talented filmmakers submitting," de Aguiar said, saying judges will have until March 10 to finish scoring their assigned films.

"It’s a great feeling when you can highlight the good work in a particular film project. Looking at a film beyond its face value and into its individual aspects such as cinematography, editing, sound design, color-grading, acting, etc. gives you a deeper perspective into the inner workings of what makes a film great."

The festival already has over 100 submissions

With over 100 submissions already received before its March 1 deadline, the judges will help narrow down the selection and also have the opportunity to rate and score films, ultimately aiding in the decision-making process for award categories and film screenings during the four-day event in April.

"Anyone interested in becoming a judge should know that it can be a time consuming endeavor but we have created a comprehensive document that will help streamline the process," de Aguiar added.

More: 'I really want to level up': What's Cookin to close, with a twist. Here's what we know.

"This is not just about deciding whether a film is entertaining or not, but going deeper and taking a look at every aspect of the film from how it was shot and edited to the writing to the acting and so on. It is as much about the individual parts as it is about the whole project."

The festival is set for April 18-21

As preparations for the festival are well underway for April 18-21, it will take place at various locations including New Bedford Groundwork, New Bedford Art Museum and New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Filmmakers from around the globe are invited to participate and it includes feature films, short films, animated films, student films, television pilots, music videos, documentary shorts and New Bedford local films.

The festival celebrates authentic cinematic stories, cultivates bold storytellers, and champions the city’s growing creative and diverse economy.

"The people we’ve talked with and meetings we’ve had with potential partners and collaborators has made me even more inspired than I already was at the beginning of this journey," de Aguiar said.

"Everyone is excited and looking forward to the festival and our long term vision for the film and television scene in New Bedford. With every passing day and every new film submission the dream is becoming more and more real."

The festival will be a year-long resource to New Bedford

de Aguiar said he wants the New Bedford Film Festival to not only be a four-day celebration of cinema, but a year-round resource for filmmakers to help develop and expand the capabilities of the area.

More: GrandMa's Donuts expands menu to include lunch and dinner options. Here's how to order.

The goal is for the organization to not only attract more outside productions into the city, but to incubate talent within the city and export it out into the industry, giving them a solid foothold to help launch their own careers.

"New Bedford is a very unique and picturesque city, with a supportive community and that to me seems like a paradise for indie projects that focus more on the art of filmmaking, instead of focusing so much about box office success," he said.

In March 2024, the New Bedford Film Festival plans to launch a 48-hour film challenge encompassing teams of filmmakers creating narratives around the downtown area.

"I hope people take away from all of this a deeper love and appreciation for the art of filmmaking and storytelling, and that they develop a sharper eye for the individual parts that make up a film," de Aguiar said.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Film Festival seeks local judges to watch films