Seminole High School will be the host of the first Seminole Film Festival. Although the period has ended for film submissions, films will be shown at the event that takes place on March 31st in the Seminole High auditorium and is open to all. The event was initially created as a fundraiser for the school’s TV production program, but has turned into much more.

“TV Production isn’t in the school’s budget, and we wanted to figure out a way to financially contribute to the program that has made a huge impact on our lives. We also wanted to create a fun event where people could watch good films, network, and appreciate the art of filmmaking,” said Senior Grace Yao, who is one of the festival’s directors.

Unbeknownst to many at Seminole High, there are numerous student filmmakers, actors, editors and other artists that have a passion for making films. This event would not only highlight these individuals but showcase filmmakers across the globe.

“We will be screening films made by people from all over the world. There are four blocks of films − comedy, drama, experimental, and animation − that range from 35 to 45 minutes. It’s only $3 per block, and the audience will be able to vote for the best film in each block,” said Yao.

The event is primarily student run but is done with the sponsorship of TV production teacher Mr. Daniel Harris. The helpers of the event consist of a panel of students involved in different arts programs at Seminole who will evaluate the submissions and select their top choices. All the films will be showed before winners are announced throughout the weekend of March 31st to April 1st. The event was coordinated through FilmFreeway, a website that is an outlet for filmmakers who make independent films to submit them to different festivals and contests.

According to one of the event’s coordinators, junior Devin Ramey, the festival has already received over 600 submissions in a variety of categories. Categories for submission has ranged from Animation, Documentary, Horror films, and many more genres, but all films are between 1 to 15 minutes in length. There have been entries from a number of countries including: France, Iran, India, Slovakia, and Poland.

“We wanted to expose people at this school to films that were made all over the world. We’ve gotten submissions from about any country you can think of,” said Ramey.

Films are a form of artistic expression that involve teams of people and an ample amount of work. They have the power to connect audiences from around the world. Being universal in nature, they can dispel the barriers that often come between people. While some films serve to entertain and others portray more serious messages, they all share a common purpose to reflect and impact society.

“I love [film] as an art form. It’s beautiful and emotional and I personally want to go into the film industry,” said Ramey.

For filmgoers, patrons of the arts, and anyone interested in seeing the hard work of these filmmakers, the 1st annual Seminole Film Fest will be held right in the heart of Seminole in the Karen Warren Coleman auditorium at Seminole High. Updates on the event students can be found on the Twitter account @Seminolefilm and more details can be found on their website as well. All proceeds made will go towards the TV production program at the school.