Anti-Bullying Film Earns Top Honors at Student Film Festival

A student from Northern Highlands Regional High School took home “Best of the Fest” honors at the 2011 Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow (JFOT) High School Student Film Festival held Nov. 12 at MediaMix Studios in Allendale.

It Only Takes One, a film with an anti-bullying message, earned student filmmaker Alexandra Schulsinger a $500 U.S. Savings Bond and 72 hours of post-production time at Sirk Productions Digital Studio in New York City.

“We hope to have this film seen by as many students, teachers and parents in [New Jersey] as possible,” said Tom Meyers, executive director of the , which sponsored the seventh annual event, along with MediaMix, Farleigh Dickinson University, Sirk Productions, the NJEA and the Fort Lee Suburbanite. “The storyline in this short film is taken from a teacher's perspective as flashback sequences detail how the teacher was bullied when he was a high school student. This topic could not be timelier.”

The most important thing is that the film “comes from the student herself,” according to Meyers.

Second prize at the festival went to Rutherford High School Steven Lopez, who won himself a $200 U.S. Savings Bond for his film, A Lopez Cartoon: Undercover Apple Mastermind. Ryan McIlraith’s Talking Back At The Beach earned the Northern Highlands Regional High School third place honors and a $100 savings bond.

Meyers said that for the first time in four years, a film produced by students was among the 10 finalists. Their film, Comes a Slurpie for Lunch was produced under the tutelage of Fort Lee High School Television Production teacher Tony Galatioto, Meyers said.

“[Their film] is quite good,” he said.

The 10 finalists at the 2011 festival came from a pool of nearly 100 students from all over Bergen County. The finalists came from the following high schools:

• Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey
• Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro
• Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale
• Paramus High School
• Lodi High School
• Rutherford High School
• Fort Lee High School

“The 10 finalists, all high school students who reside in Bergen County, [had] their films screened before friends, family and the public,” Meyers said.

The 2011 finalists are eligible to enter the 2012 Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) at no charge, thanks to GSFF Festival Director Diane Raver, according to JFOT festival organizers.

Past JFOT Winners

2010: Hallways, by Ryan Mcilraith of Northern Highlands Regional High School 

2009: Don’t Unplug The Arts, by Diana Lampiasi of Ridgewood High School

2008: Privacy Report, by Josh Pompanio of North Arlington High School

2007: No Children, by Lila Grilli of Ridgewood High School

2006: My Friend Zoe, by Scott Fersht of Barnstable Academy in Oakland

2005: Court Kings, by Josh Weinberg of Torah Academy in Teaneck

Applications for the 2012 Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow Bergen County High School Student Film Festival will be available online by March 1, 2012. Visit the Fort Lee Film Commission online for more information, or call 201-693-2763.