From the King Street Chronicle: Sacred Heart Greenwich 17th Annual Film Festival

"The Show Must Go On" at the Seventeenth Annual Film Festival 

by Liv Hegarty ’27

The seventeenth annual Film Festival lit up the Lennie and John de Csepel Theatre from 6:00 to 8:30 April 9.  Seniors Lexi Parsons and Callie Regnery hosted this year’s event with the theme “The Show Must Go On.”  The hosts took the stage acting as “interns” for a magician who fell ill days before the big performance.  The interns filled in for the magician, attempting to impress the “critics” who were attending a magic show.  Of the 98 creative filmmakers, 31 students had the chance to showcase their talent on the big screen before four judges.

Students in the Real World and Creative Filmmaking classes develop original films throughout the year and submit them for consideration to be in the Film Festival.  Students can apply to serve on the selection committee, where they view and rank submitted films.  The 13 students and four faculty members watched all of the entries and voted based on camera technique, audio, editing, and creativity.  This year’s selection committee chairs were junior Izzy Nedder and senior Lila Zecca.  Students can submit films to four categories, including creative, experimental, public service announcement (PSA), or documentary.  This year, students submitted 70 films, and the committee chose between seven and ten films per category, for a total of 32 films at the event.  Lexi commented on how she and Callie decided on this year’s magic-themed evening.

“Together with Callie and the film program leaders, we considered a lot of different themes for the festival,” Lexi said.  “We landed on magic show after thinking of possible storylines that Callie and I could portray.  Our options were definitely more limited this year as we only have two hosts as opposed to the usual three or four hosts.  However, Callie and I ultimately decided that this theme would allow for us to share time on the stage equally as well as create a strong story to portray as a duo.”

This year’s judges have experience and knowledge in all four submission categories.  Among the panelists was Ms. Lorraine Rinaldi ’19, the Director of Operations and Senior Creative Coordinator at Alexander Creatives, where she supports both narrative and documentary filmmakers whose work has premiered on major streaming platforms like Netflix.  Mr. Chris Bender is a career producer who founded Good Fear Content in 2016 and has produced and developed successful projects, earning a Golden Globe nomination.  Ms. Melissa Hammel is a documentary filmmaker and works as director, producer, and cinematographer at Becoming Pictures.  Ms. Betty Marisol García is a creative producer, writer-director, and educator working across independent film, commercial production, and cultural storytelling.  These judges carefully viewed each film in their category and announced the first and second place awards over videos screened at the Festival.

The first category of the night was experimental, judged by Ms. Rinaldi.  This category highlighted innovative films that used unconventional techniques to convey distinctive stories and messages.  Junior Analyse Almonacy received the second-place award for her film “Unattainable,” which depicts the intense pursuit of perfection.  Earning first place was junior Olivia Franco for her film “Black Hole,” an animated film set to music.

The PSA category, judged by Ms. Hammel, highlighted powerful 60-second films that brought attention to vital issues.  Sophomore Z Cox and senior Grace Villar earned second-place recognition for their film “The Last Match,” which touches on athletic burnout.  The judge awarded first place to senior Callie Regnery for her film “Every Day,” shedding light on the nationwide issue of school shootings.

This year’s documentary category, judged by Mr. Bender, featured a variety of themes and emotions.  Sophomore Margot Gannon received second place for “Coffee for Good,” a documentary that featured a cafe in Greenwich that provides paid, hands-on job training to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  First place went to juniors Julia Beaudry and Madeline Beaudry for their documentary “Under the African Sun,” which is a film about a priest who used his medical skills to help the less fortunate in Africa.

The creative category, judged by Ms. García, featured a wide variety of films, each offering its own unique perspective. Sophomore Giustina Lowenstine earned second-place recognition for her film “Murphy’s Law,” following the story of a boy who develops a connection with a lost dog shortly before leaving for college.  The judge awarded first place to sophomore Chloe Clarke for her film “Ticket,” depicting a girl who embarks on an adventure after losing her train ticket.

After the judges presented awards for each category, audience members had the chance to vote for the audience awards in each category.  The winner of the audience award in the experimental category was junior Maisie Pascal for her film “Eye of Childhood,” which explores nostalgia and childhood memories.  Senior Laurie Starke earned the audience award in the PSA category for her film “Passing,” which addresses phone addiction.  In the documentary category, the audience award went to sophomore Mille Caffray for her film “Lost Before Gone,” telling the story of addiction and loss.  Maisie also won the audience award in the creative category for her film “20/20 Vision,” which follows a therapist treating patients with strange addictions and ends with a plot twist.

The night concluded with a video recognizing the seniors in the filmmaking classes’ contributions to the filmmaking program over the years, and a special thank-you from the hosts to the educators and staff who brought the Film Festival to life, including Ms. Ellyn Stewart, Director of Media Studies, Design, and Innovation, Ms. Leah Principe, Upper School Multimedia Teacher, Mr. Ryan Oquendo, Technical Support Teaching Assistant, Mr. David Pisani, Media Studies Staff, and Miss Danielle Gennaro ’05, Bell Choir Director and Technical Director of Upper School Theatrical Productions.  Throughout the night, Lexi and Callie performed flawed magic tricks, earning laughs from the crowd and bringing the festival to life.  Ms. Stewart spoke about what makes the annual Film Festival so special.

“Whether students produced a documentary, experimental film, PSA, or a creative film, each student has spent countless hours telling stories that matter most to them,” Ms. Stewart said.  “I especially love the moment when there is laughter or sometimes even tears from the audience.  I teach my students that good filmmaking ideally inspires, educates, and entertains.  The best films accomplish all three goals.  I can’t wait for the community to celebrate our talented filmmakers.”

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