WASHINGTON – Red carpets aren’t just for big name Hollywood types. Saturday, young filmmakers from seven different countries descended on D.C. for the second annual Pendragwn Youth Film Festival, which showcased work from kids 11 to 18 years old, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
More than 75 submissions were whittled down to 15 finalists in four categories: Documentary, narrative, music video and super short film. Works varied from the comedic and topical to the contemplative and heady.
The film fest was started by Pendragwn Productions to “give kids an opportunity to make a difference in the world and understand the power of storytelling,” said festival director Jon Michael Shink. “We wanted to give them an opportunity to not only showcase their skills, but also continue the learning process.”
All contestants received a graded rubric after submitting their piece, even if they were not selected as a finalist. The organizers hope to encourage budding filmmakers to explore their passion and improve their technique.
“The thought behind this is to provide these young people with a creative outlet and be able to really hone their craft as storytellers,” Shink said.
Highlights from last year’s inaugural festival included a claymation piece from a British teen. Still impressed with what he saw, Michael Skinner, founder of Pendragwn Film Foundation, said the technique and execution was “straight out of a Tim Burton movie.”
This year, a 17-year-old filmmaker flew all the way from his native California to China for his documentary about migrant workers.
Skinner understands this kind of dedication. He started making films in the sixth grade. After his first endeavor — a stop-motion piece called “Gus the Green Gas Truck” — Skinner became “enamored with being able to think up a story [and] communicate it visually.”
He submitted the project to a festival, a formative experience that ignited a lifelong passion.
“One of the things that we’re hoping is that by not only giving filmmakers a chance to submit films and to have them seen, it’s also inspiring the youth that are in the audience to make films of their own,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage both people who already know they want to tell stories and then be able to inspire people who don’t know they can do that yet.”
This message has already rubbed off on D.C. locals Luz Bauer, 14, and Sophia Pink, 15, who are now veterans when it comes to film fests. Last year at PYFF, they won the audience choice award for their documentary “Access Denied” about Internet censorship.
Watch the film here:
Their entry for this year’s fest, “Help Wanted” — the tale of a frantic mother who gets a little magical help on an especially busy day — took the young filmmakers in a more humorous direction. Using stop-motion animation (a technique they had previously taught themselves), the girls took over 1,000 photos to create the 4-minute film.
They also wrote and edited the entire project. When something went wrong, the high school freshmen merely figured out ways around the problem, Pink said.
For instance, making kitchenware look like it is moving on its own can be tricky. After all, no one can be in a still photo of, say, a plate standing on its side. The solution? A Harry Potter wand taped behind the plate.
“We’re pretty low tech,” Bauer said. “We used so much tape and strings in our movie.”
With three films already under their belts, the freshmen have every intention making many more.
“Making movies is a great way to get a message across that is important to you or to express yourself and create a story and develop it,” Bauer said. “It’s really just awesome.”
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