Upper Dublin Holds Greenfield Youth Film Fez

Upper Dublin High School’s Performing Arts Center could have doubled as the Kodak Theatre Thursday night — just exchange the Oscars for Greenies. 

Hundreds of student filmmakers gathered at Upper Dublin High School for the fifth annual Greenfield Youth Film Festival. The students, dressed to the nines, entered the school on a red carpet. Their films were broken into several categories, including narrative, experimental, documentary and music video. 

Upper Dublin Superintendent Michael Pladus kicked off the evening by saying that the Greenfield Youth Film Festival offers students a forum and a platform to showcase their craft. GYFF Executive Director Jill Greenfield Feldman followed by saying, whether a student wins or not, he or she has started a discussion by making a film. 

Upper Dublin was represented in the first wave of awards, as Jessica Franklin was in the running for the narrative “A Difficult Appointment.” Shown in its entirety, the short drew some serious laughter from the crowd. It’s concept was simple … and familiar: a guy waiting for an appointment has to go to the bathroom ... and he’s thrown a bunch of obstacles.

The film came in second to Stephen Skeel’s “A Good List,” a film depicting a young woman lying in bed thinking about the mischief she created when she was a kid. (The kid steals, tries to steal a car and tries to counterfeit a lottery ticket.)

Also drawing awe from the audience was Benjamin Fall’s experimental film “RGB.” Drawing how’d-he-do-that stares from some in the audience, the film depicted what a group of laptops in a computer lab might do after their carbon-based users leave. About a dozen computers blinked and flashed, synchronized with music. 

Adding a nice touch to the event was the band, which played movie themes —John Williams, Henry Mancini, Adele — as each filmmaker walked to the stage to receive his or her award.

For more information on the Greenfield Youth Film Festival, visit greenfieldyouthfilmfestival.com. Also, each film will be showcased on the organization’s YouTube account in the coming days.

The following people won awards Thursday night:

Screenwriting

• Justin Asaraf, Upper Dublin High School, “Nate’s NBA Dream”

Producer

• Katherine McVeagh, Springfield Township High School, “A New Life,”
• Brionstar Minyard, Roxborough High School, “Life After Rape”
• Brian Smithman, Wissahickon High School, “The Story of Brian Smithman” 

Experimental

• Benjamin Fall, Conestoga, “RGB” 

Animation

• Emily Thompson, Souderton Area High School, “Dum Spiro, Spero”

Cinematography

• Caitlyn Deviney, Abington, “Rumors

Documentary

• Tyler DiPietro, Souderton Area High School, “Career Day”

Music Video

• Chris Luttrell, Berks Career and Technology Center, “Hey Mr. Hipster”

Special Effects

• James Lennon, Abington Senior High School, “Vaporo”

Original Music

• Drew Gottlieb, Conestoga High School, “Love Potion #10”

Director

• Nadia Tursi, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, “Sick Day”