Film Prize Junior’s 2022 festival came to a close during a live broadcasted Awards Ceremony where the winning films were announced and over $12,000 in scholarships and media grants were awarded. The festival, presented by the Prize Foundation
and Louisiana Film Entertainment Association (LFEA), was part of SRAC’s Artbreak! Festival and featured screenings of a record-breaking 79 films from 48 schools across the state of Louisiana, 23 of which were Title One schools. Student filmmakers and their teachers, families and friends were able to view the films both during in-person screenings at the festival and online via the Film Prize Junior website and then vote for their favorite films. Over 1300 votes were cast for FIlm Prize Junior 2022.
“Once again, Film Prize Junior showed the world the amazing work of these young filmmakers and, once again, it was a record-breaker,” said Gregory Kallenberg, executive director of the Prize Foundation and Film Prize Junior. “While we are so proud of our winners ‘Garbage Boy’ and ‘The Love Note,’ we are also proud of each and every student and teacher who took on the arduous task of making a film. We hope everyone comes back for Film Prize Junior 2023!”
In addition to viewing and voting for films, the festival hosted a virtual red carpet for the student filmmakers, industry-led mentorship panels for students and their teachers, and Production Island, an interactive exhibit where students were given guided hands-on access to cameras as well as lighting and sound equipment. All the events were free to attend for students and their teachers sponsors. Travel stipends were also provided to students from outside the area to offset cost of travel and board.
“The efforts of these students and teachers deserves major recognition,” says Shadi Darzeidan, Director of Film Prize Junior. “Our team has been with these schools for the past year, helping them find reference materials, working around production hurdles, and even connecting them with resources when needed. We wanted our festival to reward their efforts and to express our deep appreciation for the work they shared through our platform.”
In the high school division, AFTER PARTY from NEW ORLEANS CHARTER SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS was selected by the voters to receive the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film, receiving a $1,000 equipment grant, $500 for student celebration and $500 to the sponsoring teacher. A panel of industry professionals voted for the Judges’ Choice Award, which was presented to GARBAGE BOY from PATRICK F. TAYLOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY. The school received a $2,500 media grant along with $1,000 for student celebration award, and $1,000 to the sponsoring teacher.
For the middle school division, the Audience Choice Award went to RE-PAIRED from PLAINVIEW SCHOOL, earning a $750 equipment grant for the school $250 award for the sponsoring teacher. The Judge’s Choice Award went to THE LOVE NOTE from MCKINLEY MIDDLE MAGNET. The school received a $1,500 equipment grant and $500 to the sponsoring teacher.
Awards also went to the Best of in each film genre. For high school, Best Comedy went to THE HUSTLE from BOSSIER PARISH SCHOOL FOR TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIVE LEARNING; Best Drama to A SIGHT TO SEE from PLAQUEMINE HIGH SCHOOL; Best Sci-Fi/Thriller to MY MIND from CADDO MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL; Best Stop Motion/Animation to GARBAGE BOY from PATRICK F. TAYLOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY; and Best Documentary/PSA ended in a tie between IN LOVING MEMORY from THE NET: CENTRAL CITY and WHEN DID YOUR GLITTER FADE? from PATRICK F. TAYLOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY.
For middle school, Best Comedy went to MIDDLE SCHOOL VALENTINE from FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SCHOOL; Best Drama to 1ST DAY BLUES from HARRIET TUBMAN CHARTER SCHOOL; Best Sci-Fi/Thriller to FOUND YOU from MCKINLEY MIDDLE MAGNET; Best Stop Motion/Animation to THE DISAPPEARANCE from BATON ROUGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL; and Best Documentary/PSA went to REMAKING THE INJURY: A DOCUMENTARY from T.H. HARRIS MIDDLE SCHOOL.
In addition to the best of categories, the Shane Brown Memorial Founder’s Circle awards were also given out. The Founder’s Circle provides $250 grants to the winning schools to create films for next year’s festival. For high school films, the awards went to the following films: THE CROWN from SATELLITE CENTER; TOXIC PERSON from SOUTHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL; TWO MINDS, ONE MURDER from SULPHUR HIGH SCHOOL; A SIGHT TO SEE from PLAQUEMINE HIGH SCHOOL; TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE from AIRLINE HIGH SCHOOL; and WHAT NOW? from CADDO MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL. For middle school films, the awards went to ONE MUST GO from T.H. HARRIS MIDDLE SCHOOL; NIGHTMARE from SOUTHFIELD SCHOOL; 1ST DAY BLUES from HARRIET TUBMAN CHARTER SCHOOL; RE-PAIRED from PLAINVIEW SCHOOL; and THE NECKLACE from ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
Film Prize Junior is the student version of the Film Prize Foundation’s flagship festival, Louisiana Film Prize. It is open to high school and middle school students across the state of Louisiana. The competition was created by Tobias Kallenberg, son of Film Prize founder Gregory Kallenberg, and aims to incentivize students to become engaged in the collaborative, multidisciplinary art form of filmmaking and creative entrepreneurship while guiding students through the entire process from pen to production to marketing of the film.
For more information about the program and to view the films, visit FilmPrizeJr.com.
