By Catelyn DiLeva
Opinion Editor
The Mira Costa Cinema Club is hosting its 17th-Annual nationwide South Bay Student Video Festival today in the Small Theatre, where students will present videos of many different genres.
Over 300 students from 15 countries submitted videos in several different genres, including horror, public service announcements and comedies. The festival features guest speakers Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler, who are writers and producers for the MTV shows “Awkward,” “Reba,” and “90210”.
Click here to visit the film festival’s website.
“The festival is filled with unique and exciting projects from around the world,” Cinematic Arts teacher and judge Michael Hernandez said. “It is a great opportunity to see some creative, thought-provoking movies and talk with filmmakers and other students about the projects.”
Hernandez said he initially worked with the Cinema Club to host the festival as a way to celebrate the art of filmmaking and create a dialogue between filmmakers around Southern California.
The film festival was created in order to form a community for video makers to present their work to other students and see what their peers are making, Hernandez said.
Click here to read about last year’s student film festival.
“The festival has been a great success and expanded to include schools across the United States and from other countries as well,” Hernandez said. “Filmmaking is universal, and we never want to limit ourselves to projects only being produced in Los Angeles.”
Students submitted their projects through Film Freeway, a service for filmmakers to submit their work online.
A panel of judges selected the projects to screen as well as the award winners. The panel of judges is made up of film school professors and industry professionals. There is a variety of criteria they use to determine the winners, depending on the type of project.
“We’re looking for projects that use the medium to its fullest potential,” Hernandez said. “We are looking for projects that are innovative and develop the filmmaker’s unique voice.”
The goal for each year’s film festival is to increase the number of students who submit videos each year, according to the film festival website. According to the website, Hernandez always encourages students, regardless of whether or not they are in his classes, to participate in the festival in order to meet other filmmakers and learn about filmmaking.
Click here to see photos of the student film festival.
“Every year’s film festival is different and showcases great student work,” Film Club President and senior Morgan Montgomery said. “It’s always amazing to see the work that students create and share with everyone.”
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