Schools
Neuqua Valley Students Win Top Honors At Film Festival
Students from Neuqua Valley HS received two awards for their silent film submission at the Halloween Student Silent Film Festival.
Students from Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema for their silent film submission titled “Hiding in Plain Sight” at the Halloween Student Silent Film Festival (SSFF) held Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Avenue, Downers Grove. Media instructor is John Gelsomino.
“What I am most proud of in ‘Hiding in Plain Sight,’ is the students’ collaboration and commitment to the story,” John Gelsomino said. “They developed a thoughtful piece that was well received because of the detail in every element of the story.”
In fact, Neuqua Valley won a second award at the film fest – the People’s Choice Award. This year, the audience agreed with the judges, and "Hiding in Plain Sight” from Neuqua Valley won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema, and the People’s Choice Award.
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The Halloween Student Silent Film Festival was a film competition in which students from ten high schools created original motion pictures. Unlike other film competitions, however, the movies submitted told their stories in visual terms without the aid of voices or sound effects. Each school was given four weeks to create its silent film entry.
The students who created “Hiding in Plain Sight” were Jayden Adkins, writer; Emma Jenkins and Jayden Adkins, producers; Ani Avedoumian and Lauren Milani, costume designers; and cast members Ani Avedoumian, Addie Ramaker, Emma Jenkins, Chloe O’Keefe, Charlie Scriven-Young, and Drew Aurelio.
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“This year's event had a deliberately broad theme that revolved around Halloween,” Newmann said. “We aimed for a truly unsettling atmosphere with elements of horror, suspense, and outright creepiness. Students unleased their imagination and created something that's truly spine-chilling.”
Submitted movies were shown with live organ accompaniment by festival founder Derek Berg who is a professional pianist and CEO of the Clarendon Hills Music Academy.
“I made a convergence of the silent movie era musical spontaneity with improvisation,” Berg said. “My preparations were minimalistic. I let the film, the audience’s energy, and the eerie Halloween ambiance guide my music.”
Participating high schools and media instructors:
- Neuqua Valley High School, John Gelsomino
- Lyons Township High School, Bill Allan
- Hillcrest High School, Michael Lynch
- New Trier High School, Jim Syrek
- Bremen High School, Michael Lynch
- Riverside/Brookfield High School, Gary Prokes
- Oak Forest High School, Michael Boniface
- Tinley Park High School, Michael Lynch
- Barrington High School, Jeff Doles
- Maine South High School, Mason Strom
For the festival, a panel of judges — all professionals in the entertainment or art education industries – selected Neuqua Valley High School as a winner based on the quality of the story narrative, development, camera work, lighting, and editing.
Neuqua Valley received an HD digital file of its movie with the accompaniment sound track.
“In addition to being an incomparable experience for all the participating students,” Newmann said, “the winning filmmakers will have powerful pieces of work for their portfolios.”
For more information, visit: https://www.studentsilentfilmf...
