Talent on Screen at Paul Revere Film Festival

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Many young aspiring filmmakers’ talents were on display during Paul Revere Charter Middle School’s 11th annual Film Festival, which took place on Friday, May 16, in the campus’ auditorium.

“We’re proud to share that this year’s event is one of the first major community gatherings following the Palisades fire, a meaningful milestone for many local families who were displaced,” said Jordan Moore, who organized the festivities with fellow Paul Revere parent Susan Fitzer, Assistant Principal Justin Koretz, teacher Jon Hyman and JoAnn Rodriguez (parent and community relations). “Our students, many of whom were directly impacted by the fire, have poured their hearts into their films. This year’s festival stands not only as a celebration of their creativity but also of their resilience and the strength of our community.”

The show began with students posing for photographs on the red carpet with their project collaborators, friends and families, then everyone gathered in the auditorium to watch an hour-long presentation featuring all 27 nominated films, ranging from one to three minutes in length. Guests were encouraged to buy raffle tickets while treating themselves to sweets, beverages and slices of Flour Pizza.

“We’d like to thank you for attending this powerful night of student storytelling and community spirit,” Fitzer said to an attentive and enthusiastic audience of parents, students and faculty. “Our Film Festival once again demonstrates the amazing creativity and talent of our wonderful students. It’s made possible by the hard work of our contributing students, our team of dedicated organizers, our wonderful panel of judges, and our very generous sponsors and donations.”

This year’s judges were industry veterans in film writing, directing and editing: Phillip J. Bartell, whose editing credits include “Lilo & Stitch” and “Haunted Mansion,”; Fred Coury, drummer for the multi-platinum band Cinderella for 30 years and an award-winning film and television composer; Aaron Kenny, a film and theater composer who has worked on the songs and scores to the live-action “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast;” and Lori Korngiebel, an Emmy Award-winning producer with 30 years of experience in post production, animation, feature films and documentaries.

Judges also included Jana Sue Memel, executive VP of Schools and Entertainment at the Academy of Art University, who has produced, written and/or directed over 100 short films, 30 feature-length films, documentaries, television and theme park rides; Tia Nolan, a feature film editor on “Bewitched” in 2005, “Avengers: End Game” in 2019 and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022”; Brian Pimental, who has specialized in animation and whose roles have ranged from story artist to writer to head of story to director; Gabe Sachs, an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts who has worked on TV projects like “Freaks and Geeks” and “Just Shoot Me”; and Lisa L. Silver, an animation editor at Walt Disney Animation.

Gold trophies were awarded to the top three in each of six categories: Commercial, Animation, Live-Action, Public Service Announcement, Documentary and Music Video.

Taking first place in the PSA category was “Teach Resilience,” directed by Austin Geiger. Second place went to “Don’t Trash Revere,” produced by Frederic Vial’s Screenwriting and Filmmaking class, and “Exercise Is Important” (director Brianna Reyes) came in third.

In the Commercial category, Ethan Nedjati’s “Glacier Water” garnered first-place honors, “Drop Stop” (directed by Eli Rokhsar) was runner-up and “3 Reasons Why to Go to Italy” by Ariana Zolfaghari Bazih was third.   

Emma Mack’s “A Cool School Movie” was No. 1 in the Animation category, “How Spicy Food Takes Effect on Your Body” (directed by Melanie Lee) took second place and third place went to “Schrodinger’s Terms and Conditions” (directed by August Brancato).

The first-place Documentary film was Austin Geiger’s “Alpacas!” Taking second place was “Marina Del Ray,” highlighting the history and aquatic life in the sunny seaside community, directed by Aaron Goldberg, Gabe Smith and Sandro Prilusky. Third was GG Bostic’s “Palisades Fire Documentary.”

First place in the Music Video category was Eli Rokhsar’s “I Get Those Tardies Every Time.” Second place went to “Leave the Door Open ASL” (written, directed and edited by Eli and Logan McClune) and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” a film by Eric Wechsler’s Yearbook and Journalism classes, was awarded third place.    

“Imaginary Friend” (directed by Pugliesa Schwartz) took top honors in the Live Action category, Ali Jackson’s “Invisa Man Goes Wrong” was second and “Mark Williams Falls Back,” under the direction of Austin Geiger and Peter McCarthy, came in third place.   

Winner of the Spirit of the Festival Award (named in honor of founder Lisa Robbins) was the documentary “Always Look for the Helpers,” showing Revere students gathering in the gym at University High School after being evacuated during the Palisades fire, created by Eric Wechsler’s Yearbook class.

—- Click on any photo below to view slide show —-