The 2019 St. Vrain Valley Student Film Festival proved to be another great show with 20 student films featured from eight different area schools. The highlights of the festival included films from two graduating seniors: Ryan Yancey from Mead High School and Aamuro Kanda from Niwot High School. Both students are alumni of the CETC Video classes.
Films in the festival are judged by professionals in the film/video industry as well as by the audience at the festival. Kanda’s “Your American Brother” placed first in Drama as well as being selected Best of the Fest. His film about the struggles a young man faces during the Vietnam War era had the audience mesmerized both by the incredible cinematography as well as the captivating storytelling. He also placed first in Animation with his light hearted “The Little Lobster.”
Yancey took first place in comedy for the second year in a row with his film “The Afterhours Incident.” It featured footage from security cameras as mischief ensued. He also took first place with his documentary about a local teen celebrity called “The Mead High Mentalist.”
Both Kanda and Yancey will be studying filmmaking in college beginning next fall.
The festival is not just about who gets the prizes, though. It’s a great opportunity for film students to have their films shown in front of a live audience on a big screen. It also allows students the opportunity to interact with other filmmakers from the region.
Even though sophomore Gavin Butler won two medals at the festival, he said this when asked about his favorite part of the festival. “I really liked having my film shown on the big screen. I’ve never had that experience before.”
The festival is a joint effort between the CETC Interactive Media classes along with the Stage Tech classes at Niwot High School.