Huntington HS Filmmakers Win 2nd Place In Multi-State Contest

HUNTINGTON, NY--A team of five from Huntington High School captured silver honors in the 10 Day Film Challenge, a multi-state competition.

Jennifer Low, Caitlyn Palermo, Grace Tyrrell, Tahiyat Akber and Jose Suarez comprise the filmmaking team. The squad won awards for Best Editing, Best Use of Character and Best Poster, and took second place overall. Roughly 80 schools submitted 270 films for the contest, with the top 30 films being screened late last week.

"We are all so honored to have received this accomplishment," Low said via a Huntington High School release. "It means the world to us to see all of our hard work pay off."

10 Day Film Challenge contest rules require participants to write, shoot, edit and score a movie in just 10 school days. The students were restricted to working on their film on school property. No one was permitted to work on the project on weekends or at home.

"I’m extremely grateful for the supportive faculty as well as the arts program at Huntington High School," Tyrrell said. "I’ve seen myself grow immensely in film at this high school and this year’s 10 Day Film Challenge is an example of this. I’d like to thank Mrs. [Heather] Swan for this improvement as well as Mr. [Joseph] Cohen for letting us use his classroom."

The Huntington team, known as Ladies and Gent Pictures, submitted three films to the contest. "Binge Watch" was the film that reached the top-30. In addition to the three awards it won, it was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Cinematic Technique, Best Opening Titles, Best Screenplay and Best Underclassmen Directed Film. The movie will be screened at the 10th Annual Film Festival on May 28.

"It was an honor to be ranked second out of 270 other videos," Suarez said. "The achievement really shows how strong this video group really is when working together."

2019 marked the first year the 10 Day Film Challenge discontinued its state-level contest in favor of a multi-state challenge. As a result, there were a lot more films and competitors.

"Binge Watch" was written by Palermo, filmed by Tyrrell, directed by Low and edited by Suarez. Akber was the star of the film.

"I’m so proud of my team," Akber said. "Being nominated for and winning so many awards is no easy feat."