Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow

Fort Lee Film Commission presented the eighth annual Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow (JFOT), a Bergen County High School student film festival, with a finalists screening and awards ceremony on Saturday, November 10, 2012, at Media Mix Studio in Allendale, New Jersey. I have been involved with JFOT for several years and it’s great to see home grown talent in the Garden State. Keep an eye out for Shannen Siramarco, 17, of Paramus High School, Paramus, New Jersey.

Normally, there are quite a few films spotlighting teen angst and usually the end-result turns out the same –they survive and learn a lesson somewhere. Ms. Siramarco, turned The Shadows, an ordinary week in the life of a teenage girl (herself), into a deeply personal, introspective soul searching. Shooting interesting location scenes and intercutting manipulated images with conjured interpretations of what she started out as a child (using her own home movies) into who she has become as a young adult. It’s obvious this project took a good amount of time and patience and it shows promise.

It was also great to see support from her teacher who came out for the finalist screening and awards ceremony. With so many budget cuts in schools taking filmmaking and digital media out of their curriculums and firing their teachers, it isn’t any wonder that Governor Christie still doesn’t believe in supporting the tax credit for the filmmaking industry in New Jersey. This is were the jobs are –a multi billion dollar industry– and this is where the next generation ought to be training for and not dead end jobs in retail and mega malls.

For the first time since I have been festival director, the first place or Best of Fest went to two student projects Ms. Siramarco, and a student team of Jiho Kim, 16, and Eric of Fort Lee High School, Fort Lee, for Who Are We? a documentary about a group of teens who form an informal dance troupe and the struggles they have finding places to practice in their town.

Honorable mention goes to Chris Shadbolt, 17, Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, The Harbinger of Hypnagogia Mangrove, a ghostly comedy combining live action and animation. The final two finalists included returning student filmmakers Steven Lopez, 17, Rutherford High School, Rutherford, Surroundings of the Convoluted Mind, about a student suffering a concussion that results in failing an important exam (he won second place in JFOT 2011, A Lopez Cartoon: Undercover Apple Mastermind)) and Anthony Scalia, 18, Lodi High School, Lodi, All Differences Aside, a coinciding look at three friends as their lives come together in the end. All five finalists get free entry into the 2013 Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park. Best of Fest winners get $500 each and 72 hours post production time in Sirk Digital Studios in Manhattan.

Along with Media Mix Studio, Jersey Filmmakers of Tomorrow is also sponsored by the NJEA and Fairleigh Dickinson University. This county wide festival is dedicated to nurturing and inspiring the next generation of filmmakers introducing their work to leading members of the film community.