Mission Marquee Plaza (formerly the Mission Drive-In) 3100 Roosevelt Ave., (210) 207-8612, missionmarquee.com The Mission Drive-In entertained countless numbers of car-bound moviegoers who came from all over the city from 1948 into the early 2000s. After the theater’s closure, the city purchased the site and now uses it for arts and cultural events under the supervision of the San Antonio World Heritage Office. Throughout the year, movies still flicker across the original big screen, only viewers now sprawl on blankets or in lawn chairs across a lawn facing the screen. Credit: Photo via Instagram / mission_marquee_plaza

The San Antonio Film Commission will screen three award-winning productions of the city’s brightest new filmmakers this Saturday evening at the historic outdoor theater Mission Marquee Plaza.

The three films are winners of the #FilmSA Contest held each year by the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture’s SA Film Commission and the city’s World Heritage office. The young filmmakers — competing in age categories 14 through 17 and 18 through 21 — submitted film projects looking at “Beyond the Plate: Exploring San Antonio’s Food System” or “Lights, Camera, Action, SA!”

In the 14-17-year-old filmmaker category, Driftwood Productions won for its film “SA Food Prosperity.” In the same age category, Gabriel Brewster was awarded for “Come See SA.” In the 18-21 category, Paloma Monterrubio took the prize for “3rd Planet.”

Each winner will receive a $1,000 prize and recognition at the May 4 public screening at 7 p.m.

“This film contest is not just a competition; it is an opportunity for San Antonio’s young filmmakers to explore our city’s people, places, and this year our local food system,” said Colleen Swain, director of the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office, in a written statement. “Each year, I look forward to seeing how our youth are motivated to use film as a way to share their thoughts and experiences to inform and educate others about complex issues, such as our food system, and why building food resiliency is vital for a sustainable and equitable future, especially as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.”

Krystal Jones, executive director of the city’s Department of Art & Culture, said San Antonio’s film culture continues to expand, adding “these youth filmmakers demonstrate the incredible possibilities of what they will become and what they’ll create in the future.”

In other news for filmmakers, the deadline to submit entries to the nation’s longest-running Latino Film Festival, CineFestival, is Sunday, May 5. The 45th annual iteration of the festival presented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center will take place July 11-14.

Free, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Ave., filmsanantonio.com.

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This article appears in May 1-14, 2024.