From sentimental home movies captured in 8mm in 4:3 ratio to cult favorites, film has lived over a century as an enamoring form bridging the intricacies of screenwriting for figure development, production of auditory cues, cinematography, editing with scene cuts, scoring, and direction. 

Entries for this year’s CNY Film Event on June 2, 2022 extended across multiple schools and received recognition in categories by genre. In sports entertainment, First for “Sportscast” was given to Madison Chamberlain, Second to Grace Vandewater, Third to Talia Cavalline and Milo Sinclair. First for “Sports Edit” was given to Ellrose Hanlon and Third to Talia Cavalline. In news informational videography, First for “News Package” was given to Evan Roos and Julia Leary, Third to Madison Chamberlain. Second for “PSA/Commercial” was given to Scott Hills, and Second for “Talk Show/TV Segments” was assigned to Evan Roos. In melodic shorts, First for “Music Video” was given to Maya Perera, Second to Ellrose Hanlon. For the documentaries section, Scott Hills and Mara McBride received Third. 

For “Original Film Drama,” Third was awarded to Evan Roos for “Found.” A piece on the significance of camaraderie in periods of fatiguing emotions and what feels as though a monotonous routine blurring the lines of being lonesome. The work embodies these concepts through projecting the motif into a recurring scenario of returning home unsatisfied to the point of sobbing, and yet this action is intentionally never imagined in the film. The “Original Film Horror” award was given to Avery Caldwell and Evan Roos for “Is This Real?”  The thriller introduces a main character who is confronted with an intrapersonal paranoia that alludes to the ambiguity of existentialism. It follows a person who, after the disappearance of their fellow school members, is seen facing a shadowy violinist who has accompanied the mind of the character throughout until the viewpoint pivots and cuts through camcorder subjectivity. Second for this section went to “By Candlelight” made by Shane Fleming, John Carguello, Hasan Irfan, and Giulio Poncia. It could be considered a thrilling drama, relative to “The Godfather” (Coppola, 1972).  The low-set luminosity with nothing except the moon and twin flames, cold, unadorned dialogue, attire of actors, and the cautious placement of the taper object waning in a short span contribute to the suspicion-induced mood. Third for “Original Film Sci-Fi/Fantasy” went to “Press Paws” comprised by Fiona O’Brien, Jess Knych, and Libby Reed. The short unspools a bond of parasocial relationships to intangible, idealized figures, in this context flowing from a media platform. The piece critiques the impression of two bodies who have not once met while stilting a single-sided obsession by the observer; however, by the final seconds as an audience one is left questioning whether or not they may have empathy evoked for the main character as the sound of a heart beating lingers. 

One final individual award, the Heidelberger Award which is given to the most impressive filmmaker involved, went to FM senior Evan Roos.

Each of these individuals and collaborators immersed themselves in the field to communicate well-executed ideas standing as the epitome of artists. Evan describes film as a way to express oneself, “I think that film is very interpretive, which is remarkable because films can mean many things to many people.” His favorite aspect to working on set is the editing aspect of filling in a work of art as if it were a puzzle, and with that comes the later satisfaction of piecing shots together. “Every film lover should take every opportunity to make films. Even if some you make are a lot better than others, it’s important to see how you could improve in future films.  To be more involved in making films here at the high school, you should take Broadcast Journalism.” 

View the live stream recording of the entire festival here: 2022 CNY HS Film Festival.