Confirmed Guests and Judges  For Newsfest 2021

Prince Gharios
Filmmaker / Producer
2021 Award Recipient

Pat Lynch
Award-Winning Journalist
2021 Newsfest Judge

Michael Jai White
Filmmaker / Actor
2021 Award Recipient

John Barrett
Award Winning Journalist
2021 Newsfest Judge

The NewsFest — True Stories International Film and Writers Festival —

is an exciting opportunity for documentarians, news professionals, news producers, anchors, field reporters, news crews and production teams, and, even the guy on the street, to have his/her/their work considered for notice, awards and prizes.

     Since its inception in 2019, this festival has offered a number of interesting categories in which to enter a piece. Those who have written manuscripts and screenplays based on true and actual events, and those who have composed original music to accompany features, series, segments or music videos to go with them, are also eligible for coveted honors.

     If you are a news professional, a documentarian, or a filmmaker who captures, reenacts or adapts an authentic news event to a screenplay or narrative film, you’re invited to enter your work. This festival is not only for adults, but students, as well.

     Whether you shot your footage on your smartphone or your fancy, studio-quality video camera — or anything in between — we want to see it.

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     One of the unique advantages of submitting to TheNewsFest is that category winners will have their winning entry televised in the local Las Vegas market! Also, all works will be judged by a panel of some of the most noted and award-winning news professionals in the business. (Judges will be announced in early June.)

     The NewsFest has showcased important true stories from around the world. We offer 17 different categories.  

Some of our previous winning filmmakers include: Rohini Ruhi Hak, who has brought us compelling stories from India, including her international award for “Got Cancer,” a story of children battling cancer; Angela Koh of South Korea, whose stories take place in North and South Korea, while her other projects reveal the challenges with South Korean culture within the USA. Other winners include: Mederbek Zhalilov of Kyrgyzstan, who chronicled voter fraud in his own country; Thea Haavet, who told the story of Tim Peters, a brave refugee advocate, who smuggled desperate individuals from North Korea to freedom in South Korea. Then there was Arizona News television reporter, William Pitts, who shared some of his poignant hand-picked local stories — the ones that resonated with members of his community, and beyond. Joining him in taking awards was also Tommy Tucker, a U.S., citizen who cleverly documented his quest to urge his son to do his homework by holding up camera-friendly posters in various sports venues imploring his son to do better in school. Paul Foulkes of Japan told his own story of struggles with HIV and laid out the surprising gift that the disease had given him. Amy Leigh McCorkle, who allowed audiences to take an intimate look at her struggles with mental health as she chronicled her battles also received honors for her candid reporting. Anabelle Munro, who openly shared her own struggles with eating disorders, showed audiences how they could learn from her travails, Washington D.C. documentarian, Valerie Whitcomb, who recounted her brave account of her experience following a marijuana farmer in Tennessee; and Liane Scott, who brought the festival viewers the angst of the daily struggles among the members of that city’s Black community.

     Past winning screenwriters have included award-winning writers such as the renowned Harold Brown of Canada; Ron Podell of Wyoming, John McCarney of Arizona, and Bob Messinger of New Jersey.

     Among the winning music composers, we’ve honored Jill Sissel, Barbara Heller, The Poppyseeds, Paul Helou, and Jay Mullings.

 The NewsFest is an unusual event under the Megafest umbrella — one that garners a great deal of interest as “real” stories are told in different news formats!