Festival Gives High School Students a Shot at Filmmaking

Last year, the Greater Philadelphia High School Film Festival had 10 entrants in its first effort to get younger students involved in filmmaking and the local film community.

This year, after opening it up to all high schools in the region, it’s already nearly double that, and festival director Dominick DeFino said there’s still room.

“Each year, we want to make it have more,” he said. “You see a lot of creativity from the students.”

DeFino said this festival, which is held at Filmtech, Philadelphia’s independent film school, is a rare opportunity for student filmmakers, since most film festivals make a cut in submissions, and only show films that make that cut.

With the Greater Philadelphia High School Film Festival, though, all submitted films that fit the requirements will get a spot in the festival’s weekend screening on June 4 and 5.

While some aspiring filmmakers are already putting their work out on the Internet, getting an audience via YouTube, “that’s a small screen,” DeFino said.

“It’s good to have it in a public setting” at the film school’s screening room, he said. “It gives the kids a sense of pride.”

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The competition is open in four categories–music video, drama, comedy and documentary–for films up to 15 minutes long. A crew of up to four students can be involved on any one film.

The registration deadline is March 15, and the submission deadline is May 15; there are no registration or submission fees associated with the festival.

All entrants get a 50-percent discount on Filmtech’s annual summer filmmaking camp, which gives campers a chance to learn either the craft of acting or production, and create a finished film over the span of two weeks.

A full registration form and additional details are available at Filmtech’s website: filmtechschool.com/filmfestival.