The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

Students win film festival awards

By Jessica McClelland
Staff Writer

From animation, to documentaries and screenwriting, the Greenfield Film Festival showcases students and their creative films. Starting in 2008 with only five schools, the Greenfield Foundation and the School District of Upper Dublin created the festival to show what students can do with technology and their imagination.

On May 1, Upper Dublin High School hosted the film festival. During the day, students could interact in an academic workshop that was held by college professors, teachers and even professionals who are film makers. All day they talked to students about film making and different techniques that they can use in their own films. “Who knew that an Ikea light could be used for a film light,” senior Amanda Gulla said.

They taught students specifics on what to do and what exactly to use. “It was different. They taught us how to do stuff that is easier, and didn’t give us generals,” sophomore Bridgette Olavage, who won third place in a group project, said.

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At the festival, they have multiple awards for multiple categories like producing, animation, screen writing, music videos, and cinematography. At the festival, the audience was who voted for the nominated and voted for the films. If you win, then you receive a trophy, called a Greenie.

One of Neshaminy High School’s own students, Amanda Gulla, won first place in the animation category. Her film, entitled “11 O’Clock,” was a spin on Cinderella, but with a Tim Burton twist to it. “It took me a month and a half to do. I was surprised when I won third because my teacher, Mr. White, told me to enter it, and I didn’t think it was that great,” Gulla said. Mr. White a photography and animation teacher at Neshaminy, encouraged Gulla to enter the video. “I thought it was a really good story and it was well drawn,” Mr. White said. “It was traditional and people could relate to it.”

Along with Gulla, two other NHS’s students, Kateri Mooney and Olavage, won third place in the group project. This film, “Monsters,” was about the seven deadly sins and Lucid dreaming, which is when you know that you’re in a dream. “It started with seven people originally. We expected it to turn out differently from how it was,” Olavage, 15-year-old animation and film maker said.

The Greenfield Film Festival shows the community was students can do. Students can work up to a month working on a project, and something like that is meant to be shared. “It was really cool to see our film on a big screen,” senior Kateri Mooney said. “I was really surprised when we received third.”

Hard work and determination is what came from these three girls, and it paid off. Their talents were showed off with first and third place. This is what the festival was made for. It encourages students to keep with film making, and lets them express themselves in film.

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Students win film festival awards