Enhancing its reputation for having one of the finest scholastic film programs in the country, Huntington High School has advanced five short films to the statewide finals of this year’s 10-Day Film Challenge.
Competition rules require participants to write, shoot, edit and score a movie in just 10 school days. The teenagers can only work on their film during the school days. No filming is allowed off of school grounds or on weekends.
Huntington video arts teacher Heather Swan.
This year’s state competition drew 74 films submitted by dozens of high schools across New York. “This is the first time we have ever had all of our submitted projects selected for the final screening,” said art teacher Heather Swan, who leads Huntington’s video arts program. “I can barely contain my excitement. I have never been more proud of my students. This is the ultimate reward for their incredible efforts.”
Huntington’s five state finals films and the teams that produced them include:
• Fast and the Studious
Genre: Romance
Jackie Caravetto, Erick Joya-Amaya, Thomas Friebolin and Lindsay Martin
• The Hunt
Genre: Game
Griffin Bluemer, Caitlyn Palermo, Chris Bavaro, Elizabeth Dugan, Jeslyn Alfaro
• Unmasked
Genre: Sci-Fi
Noah Morris, Ariana Strieb, Andrew Knowles, Jose Suarez and Mia Breitbarth
• Safety First
Genre: Film within a Film
Grace Tyrrell, Tahiya Akber, Robbie Caputi, Nick Rowley and Christian Hannah
• Shelter
Genre: Thriller
David Mosden, Jenny Low, John O’Brien, Jessica Pulizzotto, Liam Walsh, Tim Lefebvre and Sam Gbalazeh
The Huntington filmmakers were also required to create movie posters.
The top 30 films in New York will be screened on Wednesday, May 16 at United Artists Cinema in Astoria, Queens. The top ten films will be recognized along with awards for Best Music, Best Use of Dialogue and Best Cinematography.
The top films will move on to the national competition, where the winners of the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and multi-state and international contests will vie for honors.
Founded by educators with over 75 combined years in television and film production education and administration, the 10 Day Film Challenge evolved from the concept behind the 48-Hour Film Project, which most recently drew more than 3,000 entries from 60,000 filmmakers spread across five continents.
This year’s 10 Day Film Challenge is expected to draw entries from about 150 high schools and nearly 5,000 filmmakers from more than 25 states and eight foreign countries.
