While it seems that all of Hollywood was at the Cannes Film Festival last week, on May 24 fans of the Granite State’s up and coming filmmakers gathered at Red River Theatres for the 7th Annual N.H. High School Short Film Festival, where 25 films by students from 12 high schools around the state were shown.
Fragaria, by Pinkerton High School’s Noah Levin and Nick Auger, received the Team Kia Jury Award for Best in Show, which includes a $1,000 honorarium. Just Another Ski Movie, by Londonderry High School’s Jonathan Klutsch, was Jury Award runner-up.
Both Fragaria and Just Another Ski Movie will be screened at the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth in October and at the SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival in Concord in November.
Jury Award Finalists included The Vision of an Innocent Soldier by Alvirne High School’s John Roberts, My Movie by Derryfield School’s Riley Greer, and Pieces of Me by Salem High School’s Jessica DeRosa and Kathryn McDermot.
The Public Service Announcement Award was awarded to Empty Stage, by Nashua Technology Center’s Jacob Lavoie, Angeleah Andrews and Colleen Finn. One of the Lucky Ones by Pinkerton’s Michael Long and Documented Alien, by Nashua Technology Center’s Linda Abukhalaf, were received Honorable Mentions.
For the first time, there was a tie for the Audience Award: Love Consulting by Bishop Brady High School’s Brook Solomon and Spencer Fleming received the same number of votes as Revolution by Londonderry High School’s Chris Livernois, Kyle Montibello, Sean Montibello and Anna Shreshkeyev. Votes for this special category were collected and tabulated at the festival.
“It’s important for the next generation of New Hampshire filmmakers to know that they can be true to their craft without leaving New Hampshire,” said Matthew Newton, director of the New Hampshire Film & Television Office, which presents the event. “Giving them the opportunity to showcase the films they make here underscores that New Hampshire can provide them and others in the film industry with what they need to develop into really fine filmmakers.”
The New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival is designed to foster and reward interest in film for future members of the industry by offering a venue for them to show their films to a live audience. More information is available at nhstudentfilm.com.
