Film Me In

Film Me In A First hand account into the New age film festival

Gwynne Tenney, Reporter

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With the flash of a camera, the rolling out of a red carpet, and the scramble to clean up a haphazard mess of iced coffee, the third annual New Age Film Festival commenced. All the hard work of Ms. Jennifer Sinski and the NCHS Film Club finally paid off on May 25th, 2017. As a member of Film Club and an attendant of the festival, I can safely announce; it was a spectacular evening.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why would students take time out of their hectic schedules to frolic around the wagner room in semi-formal attire for three and a half hours? This wasn’t just about submitting films and awarding the winners (although that was, like, 80% of it), it was also about recognition of the strides taken in high school filmmaking, and appreciation for efforts thus far.

The event kicked off at five o’clock, when Film Club members arrived (looking fabulous, might I add) to set up. And yes, in the last minute rush to set up food and drinks, there was some coffee spilled and some glass broken. But it was cleaned up in minutes, thanks to assistance from parents and Film Club alumni.

As guests began to surface, the check-in and interview process progressed smoothly. There was even a representative from New Canaan News present to interview participants in the festival.

Annie Minaglia and Bhaskar Abhiraman hosted with talent parallel to James Corden or Ellen Degeneres. Well, almost. Who could be as good as Ellen without years of practice? Their combined natural charisma along with sharp wit brought the crowd lots of laughs and definitely made the event feel more like the real thing.

Throughout the night, as the crowd got a taste of the talent in the room, the idea of stylistic flare was becoming more and more clear to me: while we are all just teenagers trying to find ourselves through the medium of creative shot techniques and perfectly timed music, not all movies come out the same. Actually, none of them do. Every short film, even when created by the same director had a different message and style.

It doesn’t matter if we aren’t sure what our style is exactly; we all have one. Our creative diversity is not limited by our ability to put it into words. So, whether you’re a director-in-the-making, a parent, or another student that was just forced to attend, I think it’s safe to say that everyone came away inspired by what they can accomplish, even as “teenagers just trying to find ourselves”.

That was my highlight of the night. After watching what the rest of my school and community had to offer, I felt a renewed sense of motivation walking away; that I could create something to impact someone, regardless of my age or time constraint. I felt a new sense of strength. And that, not just as a filmmaker but as a student, is all I could have asked for.

So, thank you to Ms. Sinski and to everyone who donated their time and effort to the production of the festival this year. It was, simply put, a night to remember.

Appreciate

Credits:

Kate Tenney and Caroline Castle