Convent of the Sacred Heart filmmaking students prepare to premiere their films at the seventh annual 2016 Film Festival Thursday, April 14. New this year, the class utilized social media such as Snapchat and Instagram to promote sneak peeks and previews of the upcoming awards for the entire Upper School.
After walking the red carpet into the Eileen Dealy Gillespie ’49 Science Center, attendees will enjoy hors d’oeuvres at 6:00 p.m. The presentation of films and awards will take place in the Lennie de Csepel Theater from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Senior hosts Riley Doyle, Aggie Ryan, and Cynthia Thomas will present ten public service announcements, eight documentaries, seven creative films, and seven free form films. Free form is a new category at the festival this year and will include GoPro, travel, and experimental films.
Courtesy of Mrs. Ellyn Stewart
Since the opening of the Broadcast Journalism studio in 2009, Sacred Heart students have received 276 local, national, or international awards. Two films this year, Chemistry, by Riley, Aggie, and Cynthia, and Frankpa by senior Georgina Cahill, have also been nominated for the 2016 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), the world’s largest youth film festival, in Seattle, WA.
This year’s documentaries feature special guests such as Emergency Room doctor Dr. Elias Kassapidis, Good Morning America host Mrs. Amy Robach, and Creative Director of Marie Claire Magazine and Project Runway Judge Mrs. Nina Garcia.
“I have been a broadcast student for three years now and have learned to appreciate film in a whole new way because I am aware of the time and patience required to create a creative piece. The annual film festival brings attention to all the broadcast journalism students’ hard work and allows us all to feel proud of our films in a special way,” junior Quinn Butler, who worked with junior Juliette Guice and senior Devika Arjoon on their creative film, Wiggle, said.
A panel of five experienced media and broadcast professionals will serve as this year’s judges. This group includes: Vice President of Sales and Consumer Marketing for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) Deportes Ms. Michelle Bella; TV producer Ms. Michelle Buccieri; President of the History and Arts and Entertainment (A&E) networks Mr. Paul Buccieri; Fit Global Executive Producer and Director Mr. Andrew Freirich; photography and video production teacher at Germantown Friends School Ms. Kackie St. Clair, and Sacred Heart alumna, who ran the first film festival, Miss Elizabeth Sabia.
The judges will vote on the 32 student films and award first and second place trophies in each category. There will also be the Audience Awards, Actor Awards, Senior Awards, and the Australian Awards. Eighty six students at Sacred Heart’s sister school in Melbourne, Australia, will watch the student documentaries and public service announcements and nominate their favorites for the Australian Awards.
Before the show, audience members can buy raffle tickets for a special movie basket filled with different kinds of movie snacks and candy. The raffle will take place after the presentation of the golden awards.
-Grace Mather, Staff Writer
Watch the trailer. Produced by Claire Uygur ’16
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Preparations underway for the seventh annual film festival
Senior Georgina Cahill’s “Frankpa”
Courtesy of Mrs. Ellyn Stewart