Congratulations to our PCTV film students for their participation in the 2014 All American High School Film Festival.
Pine Crest students had two films that were finalists in the categories of Editing and Original Score:
“Backfired”; Bronsen Bloom (c/o 2014), Seth Kelman, Justin Danzansky, Alexis Kesselman – “Official Selection and Finalist for Best Editing”.
“While We Wait”; Mirella Cardoso (c/o 2014), Alexis Kesselman – “Official Selection and Finalist for Best Original Score” (Alexis Kesselman).
Justin Danzansky, Alexander Edep, Ryan Felberbaum, Christian Hyatt, Seth Kelman, Ginger Hollander, Audrey Louden, Sabine Katsoulos, and Alexis Kesselman traveled to New York City this past weekend to attend the festival and visit with former PCNN / PCTV students and Pine Crest Alumni Bronsen Bloom, Lizzie Shapiro and Evan Kelman. Upon arrival in New York, Evan Kelman provided the group with a full tour of the NYU Film School. He showcased his thesis film and gave valuable insight into the process he went through to produce it.
It was then off to the red carpet for the official opening party of the Festival where our students joined talented High School filmmakers from around the country and world.
On Saturday, the group met up with Pine Crest Alum Lizzie Shapiro for breakfast and words of advice. She shared her experiences after Pine Crest and announced she would be shooting her thesis film in Boca Raton in June. Some of our crew volunteered to assist.
Then, it was off to the AMC 25 movie theater in Times Square for a full day of short film premiers. WOW! – that’s the only word to describe what was shown. It truly was hard to believe that the content was produced by High School students. This was eye opening and inspiring for our team. Of course, the group made sure to be in the theater for their two films listed above. After all, this was their first premiere on the Big Screen and it was in Times Square, NYC! What an opportunity!
After a full day of amazing films, it was time to go black tie and get suited up for the red carpet dinner and awards show. This was like the Golden Globes but for High School! Our team hit the carpet, was interviewed by MTV News, and then got seated for an impressive three course dinner. Hugs, handshakes, and congratulatory remarks ensued as they learned of their finalist status in two categories. It was rewarding, and also reaffirming. They now knew they could compete amongst all the talent they were witnessing.
The final day on Sunday consisted of a two hour screening of the “Best of the Best”. The group was treated to the finalists in each category and also got to see their own up on the big screen one last time. Upon returning to Florida, we learned that our students were featured on the AAHSFF’s website and Facebook page. Of all the thousands of photos that were taken and interviews that were conducted, Pine Crest is who was featured, twice!
AAHSFF 2015, Pine Crest will no doubt be back for more and with competitive submissions.
