Spotlight's on student films at Prairie Center fest

At age 11, Peter Gundling of Lake Forest already has won awards at film festivals across the country ­and met some of his heroes - Steven Spielberg, Art Clokey and Harold Ramis.

His medium? Stop motion animation, featuring a cast of Gumby-like, clay characters.

Gundling's latest, "Super Kitten and the Power Pets," is one of 12 entries in Saturday's third annual Screen Test Student Fest at Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts.

"My favorite scene is when Super Kitten rescues the Power Pets," Peter says, adding that the film took him nine months to make.

Despite his young age, film festival officials say his animated short literally jumps off the screen.

"It has a 'wow' factor that's off the charts," says Rob Pileckis, festival coordinator and production supervisor for Schaumburg's Department of Cultural Services.

The festival opens at 7:30 p.m., when each of the filmmakers will introduce their short videos before answering questions at the film's conclusion. Each movie runs less than 15 minutes.

"Getting into the festival is getting tougher each year," Pileckis says. "Today's kids are the digital generation, where film and video technology is more accessible than ever. They seem to have a natural instinct for this medium."

In all, there were 34 entries for the 12 spots. Entrants range from fifth grade through high school, coming from Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bartlett, Bolingbrook, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Lake Forest and Palatine.

"The films we've seen this year are far more sophisticated than anything we've had in the past," Pileckis adds, "not only technically, but artistically as well."

He points to the quick-cut editing in "The Death of Summer," made by Palatine High School senior Omar Elaasar, demonstrating his eye for visual composition and flow. He also cites the sophisticated war scenes recreated in the "Island of Resistance II," filmed by Charlie Stough of Crystal Lake.

"I never dreamt we'd be seeing war films in this," Pileckis quips.

One of last year's winning filmmakers returns with a new film. Barrington teen Ben Gustafson placed second overall and first for best comedy with his classmates Jon and Ben Richardson, who make up BJB Productions.

Their film this year, "The Walker,"is another comedy, this time revolving around his grandfather's walker, which takes on a life of its own amid a series of madcap encounters.

He and his team used a Panasonic DVX 100B camera to shoot the film, before using Final Cut Express software to edit it and Adobe After Effects to add special effects.

"Most of the 'movie magic' was the suspension of belief as the old man's walker is taken for a spin around town," Gustafson says. "We did add color grade to give the film a richer and more film-like look."

Another animated film is the work of fifth graders at Dryden School in Arlington Heights, working with their teacher, Tricia Fuglestad.

Her students' entry in the first Screen Test Student Fest won first place and later made its way to the Chicago International Film Festival, and ones in Italy and Australia.

This film, "Let's Be Green When It's Time to Clean," features similar visual effects of layering pictures within pictures, and with all of the inanimate objects, like a paper towel roll, sponge and even a recycling bin, singing and dancing.

Others in the festival offer intimate looks at teenage relationships, including "The Girl I Plan to Marry," by Bolingbrook teen Phillip Partynski, and "How Far," filmed by Mark Davis of Arlington Heights.

Davis, a senior at Northridge Prep in Niles, is a newcomer to Schaumburg's film festival but he has won the Arlington Heights Memorial Library Film Festival the last two years.

What separates his film, Davis feels, is its dancing and original music, including the title song, "How Far," sung by one of his classmates, Robert Lechner.

"The dance scene in the movie features a crane shot in which the camera starts up high by a chandelier and smoothly moves down to see the dancers," Davis says of one of three cameras he used to shoot the film.

Schaumburg officials say that so much work goes into making these films - writing, directing, editing, acting and composing a soundtrack - that they deserve an audience.

"Making a movie is really an impressive feat," Pileckis says. "This festival is all about acknowledging their achievements."

A panel of professionals from the film and video industry will judge the entries and cash prizes include $250 for best in show, $150 for second overall and $100 for third place. Best shorts in each category - drama, comedy, experimental, nonfiction and animation - will win a $100 cash prize.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.ci.schaumburg.il.us/screentest/">Screen Test Student Fest home page</a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=278051">TMC host bring film insight to Schaumburg <span class="date">[03/11/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>