LANSING - Winners of the first Love Letters to Lansing Video Contest were announced this past Thursday at the Capital City Film Festival's final Brew & View screening before the upcoming 2015 festival.

Ryan Fredrick and Mitten State Films took the top spot with their rousing entry, #Love Lansing. Second place went to Aaron Word for his Twitter-inspired entry, A Love Letter to Lansing. Rounding out the top three was Warren Jackson and his time lapse-based video, L-town Love.

The Love Letters to Lansing Video Contest, put on by the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau in partnership with the Capital City Film Festival, gave area residents the chance to show why they #LoveLansing by creating a short video showcasing the capital region.

"Lansing residents are very passionate about their community, and it showed in the quality submissions from all over Metro Lansing," said Jason Gabriel, Capital City Film Festival programming director. "It was tremendously difficult to select the winners, and it made me proud to live in such a fantastic city with so many talented people."

The winning video will be shown at the festival's Opening Night Feature Film screening of Slow West at the Lansing Center on Thursday, April 9 at 7:15 PM.

"This was a great contest to showcase both the Lansing area and its residents. Each video told a story of the region from a unique point of view," said Tracy Padot, Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau vice president of marketing communications. "The videos show just how diverse our community is and why Greater Lansing is such a great place to live, work and visit."

Cash prizes totaling $4000 were distributed to contest winners. Festival passes were given to five honorable mention submissions.

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Running April 9-12, the Capital City Film Festival is a multimedia showcase of independent films and live touring bands with engaging audiences in Michigan's capital city. It celebrates artists from around the world who share their craft while promoting and building on the cultural assets of our diverse locale. Learn more at www.capitalcityfilmfest.com.