A group of six exceptional Huntington High School filmmakers are set to showcase their work at this year’s Locust Valley Film Festival.
The Huntington teenage artists are studying with high school video arts teacher Heather Swan. The students have worked very hard on their films during every stage of development and the final products are quite impressive, according to their teacher.
“Although the Locust Valley Film Festival is virtual this year, we are very excited to participate along with nine other Long Island schools,” Ms. Swan said. The festival will be split into a two-day viewing event shown on June 2-3.
The filmmakers will vie for honors in eight categories, including animation, comedy, commercial, documentary, drama, music video, public service announcement and trailer.
Huntington High School students will show 10 films during the festival, including:
Matthew Colavecchio: “Melancholy with Olly” - drama category
Katerina Damiano: “Littering” - public service announcement category
Katerina Damiano: “The Ruff House” - comedy category
Lauren Gooding: “Son of Man” - comedy category
Lauren Gooding: “The Real Band Mates of Huntington” - comedy category
Caroline Kilgour: “You Belong with Me” – music video category
Caroline Kilgour: “Kilwin’s” – documentary category
Ally Kustera: “Covid” – public service announcement category
Ally Kustera: “Emily in the Halls” - comedy category
Jack O’Brien: “Vaping” – public service announcement category
“I’m so excited that we get the chance to showcase our works this year despite everything going on,” Ms. Kustera said. “Making my PSA was a challenge because I had to find a way to connect with high school students and send an important message.”
Huntington’s video program is highly regarded throughout the state and has even earned a national reputation. Numerous program alums have gone on to study film in some of the best college programs in the country.
“This year I have been so lucky to be able to continue creating quality videos,” Ms. Gooding said. “I am so excited to be able to share my work with students in other schools.”
The students have had to overcome an endless array of obstacles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Not having full access to the hi-end video equipment has been a challenge for many of the video students this year,” Ms. Swan said. “I am so proud of how the students persevered and produced incredible competition worthy videos. It will be exciting to see how we place in the competition.”