It’s usually a very festive evening at the Cinema Arts Centre, with a standing room only crowd, professional projection, popcorn and refreshments, but this year’s Huntington High School Film Festival will be no less impressive despite the changed format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 festival has gone virtual, but the filmmakers are just as excited as ever to have the public view what the teenagers have been working on for months. The films are at times provocative, funny, poignant, emotional and insightful. They feature fine camera work, acting and editing. Friday night’s festival will showcase the “best-of-the-best” and include about 60 minutes of student productions.
Heather Swan heads Huntington's video program.
“This year’s film festival has a wide range of genres,” said art teacher Heather Swan, who leads the video arts program. “We have YouTube tutorials, video essays, film noir, reality TV shows and director inspired film. The students maintained their creativity even during these tough times. We had a wonderful year and I am so proud of all their films.”
Huntington’s filmmakers have won a numerous honors in festivals and contests around the metropolitan area in recent years.
This year’s group of filmmakers are program veterans and their abilities have grown each year.
“Taking Mrs. Swan’s film classes from sophomore year onwards helped me discover my love for directing and screenwriting,” senior Mia D’Alessandro said. “It’s taught me about myself and continues to be an exciting realm of self-expression that I plan on exploring through college.”
The program has many stars in it. Senior Caitlyn Palermo is one of them. “I am grateful for Mrs. Swan and the work she has done for the Huntington High School film program,” the teenager said. “I am thankful for everything she has done and cannot wait to see the film festival that she has worked so hard on, closing the chapter with her seniors.”
After spending its first two years in the Huntington High School auditorium, the film festival moved to the Cinema Arts Centre in 2012. There is every expectation that the 2021 festival will return to CAC.
To view the festival click on this link https://youtu.be/mmL6wiTEXjQ and sit back and enjoy.
The festival’s line-up of films includes:
- “Not Enough” by Caitlyn Palermo
- “Absent Hope” by Daniel Petrylka
- “The In-Law” by Jennifer Low -
- “COVID PSA” by Nicholas Rowley
- “Sophie” by Grace Tyrrell
- “How to Ollie” by Kiara Gelbman
- “Still Life” by Mia D’Alessandro
- “Uncertainty” by Grace Tyrrell
- “Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Matthew Colavecchio, Miguel Avalos, Seamus Hannon, Matthew Fallon and Jordan Santiago
- “Corona-Viral” by Jennifer Low
- “Reflection” by Nick Rowley
- “Quarantined and In Love” by Megan Agrillo
- “Comic Book Boys” by Chris Bavaro
- “Sand Dusted Homicide” by Daniel Petrylka
- “How to Make Cake Pops” by Ally Kustera
- “Sides” by Jennifer Low
- “Asteroid” by Caitlyn Palermo, Jennifer Low, Grace Tyrrell, Daniel Petrylka, Chris Bavaro, Nick Rowley, Mia D’Alessandro and Megan Agrillo