Student film fest Saturday in Schaumburg
Urban renewal, snow days, sexual identity, Claymation frights and slasher parodies all are topics in the film shorts at the fifth annual Screen Test Student Fest at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the Schaumburg Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court.
“It’s amazing to see how adroitly young people have utilized filmmaking as a way to express themselves creatively, emotionally, and intellectually,” festival coordinator Rob Pileckis said in a news release.
Filmmakers will introduce their own projects and will answer questions from the audience.
In addition, students from Palatine High School produced films to be projected on the Prairie Center’s exterior facade while student filmmaking team BJB Productions created a split-screen film to be projected on opposite walls in the center’s gallery.
Also, on Friday at 8 p.m., the Prairie Center will present the independent feature film comedy “Driver’s Ed Mutiny,” written and directed by former Schaumburg resident Brand Hansen, who will answer questions via Skype after the screening.
Tickets, which include Friday’s screening, are $10, $5 for students and seniors. Call (847) 895-3600 or visit prairiecenter.org.
Screen Test is sponsored by The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg and Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. The films, selected by a panel of judges, are eligible for cash prizes of up to $250 in various categories.
Among the films are:
Ÿ “82 Westing Street,” a 1:16 (1 min. 16 sec.) horror short written and directed by Peter Gundling, an eighth-grader from Lake Forest.
Ÿ “Drumming Baudio,” a 1:35 music video written and directed by Palatine senior Dan Michie.
Ÿ “I Gotta Shovel,” a 2:20 comedy written and directed by Schaumburg sophomore Kristen Dawidiuk.
Ÿ “Jamaican Me Crazy,” a 1:43 mock trailer for a suspense film written and directed by seniors Scott Durand and Joe Melone of Elk Grove Village.
Ÿ “Never Fell Out of Love,” a 5:09 documentary on the fallout from a filmmaker’s offer to help out his elderly neighbors, written and directed by senior Kyle Rawlinson of Libertyville.
Ÿ “Waiting for Time,” a 2:05 stop-action, animated portrait of an elderly man who combats loneliness by watching old home movies, written and directed by Libertyville senior Kyle Rawlinson.
Ÿ “The Address,” a 2:22 drama written and directed by Gurnee senior Joseph Kosty.
Ÿ “Santa’s Revenge,” a 9:45 comedy sendup of slasher films directed by Gurnee senior Joseph Kosty and written by him with Gurnee senior Max Armstrong.
Ÿ “Silence,” a 2:17 drama on the hidden emotional scars from hurtful actions, written and directed by Palatine junior Anna Price.
Ÿ “Watch Where You’re Going,” a 56-second animated film written and directed by Palatine senior Ray Bach.
Other films done by Chicago students include a look at the revitalization of Dearborn Homes, a public-housing project; a look at urban dances from a historical and social perspective; a student discussion by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth of sexual identities and their experiences coming out to family and friends; and a look at young couples in different circumstances and what it is that keeps them together.