Students' short films to debut at Next Generation Storytellers Film Festival
Posted: September 30, 2024
Short films created by students in Newport News Public Schools, Hampton City Schools and the Charleston County School District in South Carolina will debut at the Next Generation Storytellers Film Festival October 18-20 at Christopher Newport University's Ferguson Center for the Arts.
Matinee film screenings on October 19 and 20 will be free and open to the public, while evening events featuring the debut screening on October 18 and the awards ceremony on October 19 will be invitation-only. Attendees can reserve their free tickets for the two public events by clicking here.
Eleven short films will be shown, six of which NNPS students wrote, produced and starred in.
They are "House of Clues," "Multiplayer Mayhem," "The Flip Side," "Sanguine Teens," "Untitled Artist" and "From Your Sun, To My Moon." They range from horror to comedy and feature themes from artistic creativity and a twist on the teen vampire trope to video games and a guy who may not be what he seems.
Next Generation Storytellers partnered with NNPS for the first time this year, bringing industry professionals and the movie-making experience to students from start to finish. NGS co-founders Trent Garrett, a Peninsula native, and Jacob Young are experienced Hollywood actors and producers who founded the organization to foster young talent.
Starting in January, selected NNPS students took 16-week moviemaking and 8-week screenwriting courses simultaneously online after school. As part of the coursework, students worked on and submitted scripts, with six chosen to be made into short films.
Auditions took place in April for acting roles and students volunteered to work as crew members. Filming took place at various Peninsula locations in the last two weeks of June.
During the Film Festival weekend celebrating students' accomplishments of seeing their completed work released, winners will be announced in the categories of Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Staff or Community Member in a Supporting Role, Best Director and Best Picture.
The winning film will be invited for inclusion in the 37th Annual Virginia Film Festival on October 30 through November 3 in Charlottesville.
