[above: recap from the 2011 festival]
The Kiwanis Teen Film Festival is rolling out the red carpet for young film makers throughout the region. The screenings and awards are slated for Saturday evening. Be there!
Every artist, from Van Gogh to Andy Warhol, had to start somewhere. However, not all artists use brushes and oil paints as their medium of choice. For those aspiring young creators that prefer a video camera as their tool, the 2012 Kiwanis Teen Film Festival is their answer.
The annual festival will be held on Saturday, April 28, at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls at 6:30 p.m. High school students statewide as well as from Jackson, Afton, and Star Valley, Wyoming are eligible to submit their own films to be presented to the public at the festival.
“We’re really excited for what this year’s festival has to offer--last year’s films were incredible,” says Marci Dimick, executive director of the film festival. “Kids are always taking pictures and film on their handheld [cameras] and phones. It’s so easy for them to get the technology and just roll film!”
With films getting better and better every year, students are pushing their creativity to the limits and making pieces unlike any others in past years. Some have even gone beyond use of just the camera and added in computer graphics and animation to their films!
Established in 2004 by Steve Parry as an effort to get the Idaho Falls Kiwanis chapter more involved in the community, the film festival is an excellent opportunity for teens to develop their filmmaking skills and present the product of their talent to the community. Who knows--one of these young filmmakers may one day create a legendary blockbuster for the next generation to applaud for.
--Lacey Larsen
