The annual Convent of the Sacred Heart Film Festival promotes inspiring talent from student film-makers. With roughly 500 people attending, the Film Festival is an entertaining event complete with a red carpet and  humorous hosts, seniors Jackie Batrus and Grace Jorgenson.
The hallways were filled with black and gold balloons, life-sized posters of famous actors and actresses and a photo backdrop, which added to the Hollywood feel. Each Broadcast student made a poster to publicize her public service announcement, creative short piece or documentary.

People of all ages came to the event, including 20 boys from South Kent school.
“We are so excited to see your films and how advanced your program is. It’s really different from ours and we know we are going to learn a lot,” South Kent student Pat Curry said in an interview with junior Jane Mikus prior to the festival.
The night began with twelve public service announcements, also known as PSA’s. Judge Zoë Zellers, an alumna of Convent of the Sacred Heart who has worked in television, writing, fashion, and modeling, critiqued the PSA category and awarded first and second place prizes.
“The most exciting thing to see is all the growth and diverse opportunities that have developed at this school. Filmmaking is such a relevant industry, and it is reassuring to see so much enthusiasm and dedication from the students,” Zellers said, prior to announcing the winners.
Following the PSA category were the eleven creative pieces which ranged from music videos to silent films and short narratives. Gary Cortell, a judge with over two decades of experience in media, evaluated the creative category.
The final round of submissions included a variety of powerful documentaries which were assessed by Linda O’Bryon, an achieved woman in business and financial reporting.
At the end of the night, the audience voted through a text message for its favorite piece in each category.
The following is a list of the winners:
Judges’ Awards
PSA

• 1st place: “Get Real” – Sydney DeVoe

• 2nd place: “Be a Friend… Lend a Hand” – Maddie Church and Katie Hill

Creative Entry

• 1st place: “Out of the Dark” – Gabrielle Giacomo, Grace Kennedy, and Natalie Ponce

• 2nd place: “Intruder” – Catherine Cunningham, Margot McCloskey, and Lexie Miller

Documentary

• 1st place: “Salon on Wheels” – Shelby Holland

• 2nd place: “Cognitive Computing” – Grace Isford

Audience Awards

• PSA: “Was Her Life Worth it?” – Jordan Cohen and Alana Normile

• Creative Entry: “The Hunt” – Shelby Holland and Gabriela Lopez

• Documentary: “Fish out of Water” – Maddie Church and Jordan Cohen

To see all of the winners films click here – https://www.cshgreenwich.org/podium/default.aspx?t=152825
To see pictures from our first ever photo backdrop click here – https://www.cshgreenwich.org/podium/default.aspx?t=52562&a=187775
And to see photos from the Red Carpet and the Awards click here-  https://www.cshgreenwich.org/podium/default.aspx?t=52562&a=187776
 
– Mary Grace Henry, Staff Writer