Youth Film Festival In Charlottesville Puts Students' Versatility On The Big Screen
Read this article on The Daily Progress – Click here
To create the films selected for Friday’s Youth Film Festival in Charlottesville, young people in Light House Studio classes learned the value of collaboration and the importance of each person’s contributions. For Frank Kimbrough, that meant spending painstaking time in a motion-capture suit to help bring an animated turtle character to life.
“The Gauntlet,” a 1 1/2-minute animated film on Friday’s program at the Paramount Theater, tells the story of “man who had a pet turtle who wandered into a paintball field,” Frank, an 11th grader at Waynesboro High School, told The Daily Progress. “I played the main character, so I had to wear a special suit.”
Will Goss, creative director at Light House Studio, told The Daily Progress that the turtle’s colorful journey is among 18 student films that’ll be screened in Friday’s festival, which includes “everything from animation to documentaries to fiction to a PSA.”
“Everybody’s on a different computer in this room,” Goss said, gesturing toward tables of computers visible behind him. “You’re working together and you’re working alone at the same time.”
Friday’s event, a celebration of local students, their community mentors and creative teamwork, will include comedies, narrative films and pieces that address social issues, including climate change and the dangers of vaping and tobacco use.
These films are getting noticed, too; so far this year, films created by Light House Studio students have racked up 30 inclusions in film festivals and 12 awards. In 2023, 47 films created by students were accepted at 38 different film festivals, bringing home 13 awards. The films were created during Light House Studio’s Summer Film Academy, as well as in workshops and community partnerships held throughout the school year.
A party for sponsors and VIPs will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, and the doors will open for the general-admission audience at 7:15 p.m. so everyone can get seated before the festive screening begins at 7:30 p.m.
Frank first signed up for Light House Studio classes because his mother thought it would be a fun activity to try. While studying animation and documentary filmmaking, Frank said, he relished being part of a team and wanted to do his best work so he wouldn’t let the others down.
For Frank, “being at Light House definitely was a good experience for me.” He said he can picture himself building additional filmmaking skills.
“I can see myself editing in the future,” Frank said, adding that he could see many potential applications for the skills he learned in his animation and documentary classes at Light House Studio, including creating effective and eye-catching advertising messages.