On July 31 at 6:30 p.m., the Bill Library in Ledyard will host its first teen film festival in which contestants from the ages of 11 to 18 will be judged on their cinematographic creations.
The idea for the contest came from Andrea Buka, Ledyard libraries’ teen summer reading program director, who explained what the contest/festival will be all about.
“The kids will film their own movies and copy it to a DVD and submit their films, and then we’ll have a little film festival here at the Bill library on July 31,” Buka said. “We’re hoping an audience will show up, and then the audience will vote on their favorite films and we’ll award some prizes and have some pizza and snacks.”
Buka, who in the past has held various contests through the summer reading program—most notably a writing contest she’s held every year—said the inspiration behind the film festival came from this year’s summer reading program theme.
“Every year for the last seven years I’ve done a teen summer reading program and this year our theme is ‘Metamorphosis,’ so essentially changing one thing into another,” Buka said. “One of the topics that we really got into was film and changing still photography into a moving picture. So I’ve also been showing a series of the very first movies ever made from the late 1800s and early 1900s, so this is really a chance for the teens to make their own film and show it to the public and show off their own creativity.”
The deadline for the contest is July 22 and contestants can be anywhere from 12 to 18 years old and must be entering grades 7 through 12. And while there is an age limit, Buka said she is giving free rein to the contestants, although films must be appropriate for public viewing.
“It’s really anything that they want,” Buka explained. “I haven’t put any limitations on it because I want them to be as creative as possible, it’s their opportunity to be the director, producer, and possibly actor in their own film and get together with their friends and just do something fun and creative.”
For more information, contact Andrea Buka at 464-9912.