By Naomi Kruh
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa Cinema Club hosted its 16th annual South Bay Student Video Festival on May 13 in the small theatre to showcase a variety of students’ videos, ranging from fiction to public service announcements.
Winners at this year’s festival included Erika Kroll from Orange County High School of the Arts winning “Best Music Video” for “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” and Morgan Montgomery, Scott Healy, Sophia Wuolijoki, and Jordan Resin from Costa winning “Best Public Service Announcement” for their submission “Windshield”. This year, Cinema Club received over 300 submissions for the festival from both local and international students.
“I thought the festival went really well,” cinema club vice president Morgan Montgomery said. “The films that ran were quality projects and I am super impressed and hopeful for the next generation of filmmakers.”
Costa cinematic arts teacher Michael Hernandez said that the film festival was created to provide a place for the community to see the work that all of the students have been making. The festival also allows students to see different perspectives and techniques that are utilized by students at other schools.
“We invite students from other schools to participate so that we can celebrate the art of filmmaking because we did not want to make it just about Mira Costa,” Hernandez said. “As a student of film it helps to see other perspectives instead of limiting yourself to one school”.
This year’s festival began with guest speaker Sheryl Anderson who spoke about what it is like to be in the entertainment industry, specifically as a woman. Anderson has had experience in the industry as a both a writer and a show-runner for television shows.
“I enjoyed hearing about what it is like being a woman in a male-dominated industry and learn about what it takes to make it despite discrimination women so often face in the film industry,” Montgomery said.
Starting in February, students submitted their work to FilmFreeway to be reviewed by the judges. Montgomery and club member Dylan Lenze narrowed the submissions down to the select few that were actually screened at the event.The judges then selected which films would receive the awards ranging from best non-fiction to best cinematography. The judges this year include film school professors from Loyola Marymount University and current professionals in the industry.
“It’s amazing to know that my work is judged by real industry professionals because I know that my films are being scrutinized by people who know what they are talking about and who are going to use their skills from the industry to select the best films,” Montgomery said.
This is the second year the festival has been open for international submissions. The festival received submissions from students in countries such as Iran, Ireland, Canada, Australia and France.
“We wanted to celebrate the art of cinema and all of the different perspectives that it can provide for all of us,” Hernandez said. “The world is a small place now thanks to the internet so why not include great projects from other countries because if they’ve got a great idea that can resonate with an audience then why not celebrate that.”
Next year, Hernandez hopes to have even more students participate in the film festival. He encourages students, even those who are not in one of his cinema classes, but who enjoy making movies to submit them to the festival.
“I hope we can continue growing the festival and getting even more submissions and more great work from students everywhere,” Montgomery said.
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