Charlottesville Youth Film Festival draws on talent and teamwork
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When Deanna Gould first joined the staff of Light House Studio 16 years ago, the organizers of its Youth Film Festival usually had fewer than 100 student films to choose from when they scheduled the screenings. Preparing for this weekend’s 24th festival, on the other hand, meant going through 400 to 500 submissions.
Gould, the studio’s executive director, told The Daily Progress that the audience can expect to see documentary, animation and horror entries this year when screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Paramount Theater, but comedies reign supreme.
“We had a lot of comedies this year,” Gould said. “I do think it’s hopeful. I think people will walk out thinking that our young people still have it. They have a sense of humor.”
The audience can expect to see 22 films, most clocking in at 5 minutes or fewer in length. The Charlottesville-area filmmakers range in age from high school students to 8-year-olds, and what they share is a dream of telling stories through films.
Among the documentaries is a film about Charlottesville High School students building an accessibility ramp; others address climate change and the effects of ever-present social media. The animated films employ a range of skills to tell their stories, including traditional drawn figures, stop-motion techniques and motion-capturing suits.
The Youth Film Festival, Light House Studio’s major annual fundraiser, gives the community a glimpse of what film students are working on throughout the year during academic-year workshops, community partnerships and the Summer Film Academy.
As they learn their craft through workshops and classes, the students nurture and build on a variety of skills. Learning to collaborate with other students on teams of three to six means finding both the courage to present creative ideas to others and the grace to accept feedback and criticism. Painstaking film editing brings a host of lessons about what stays and what goes along the journey to telling a compelling story. Being a good teammate often involves helping someone else’s ideas get the spotlight they deserve.
Part of the fun for Light House Studio staff members and community mentors is watching the talents that emerge as young filmmakers find their voices. “You see the students progress over time,” Gould said. “While we are first and foremost about storytelling, we love to see [students] blossom with camera and editing.”
The evening starts with a party for VIPs and sponsors at 5 p.m.