April 12, 2003
Rivertown spotlights films by 8
local teens `Festival of Shorts' also offers `Diwali,' Academy nominees Five-minute films by eight Rockland high school students will be the feature attractions at this year's Rivertown Film Society's second annual "Festival of Shorts." "Pipe Dream," for example, follows the journey of a ring dropped down a drain in Nyack. The camera follows the ring through a network of pipes, popping up in such familiar places as Nyack Village Hall and Nyack Library, and eventually to the Hudson River. "Basically what it's saying is everything is connected, our society is connected," said Casey Predovic, the 10th-grader at Rockland Country Day School who conceived and directed the film. Kristina Burns, chairwoman of the Rivertown Film Society's executive board, said the young filmmakers' work was sophisticated, especially because shorts reflect experimental ideas and offer insight into people's styles. Earlier this year, the film society offered two workshops to county high school students interested in crafting their art. They were led by filmmakers Mike Dan and Vera Arnow, both Nyack residents. Dan and Arnow discussed ways to edit movies and different techniques, often finding the teens were as well versed in the latest technology of digital cameras and editing software as they were. Still, Burns said, feedback from professionals was useful. "It was valuable for them to sit in a room with people who were also filmmakers, rather than in their living room listening to their moms and dads," Burns said. About 30 students then submitted their finished work for screening consideration. Six selected by the panel will be shown during the festival at 8 tonight at the 400-seat BOCES auditorium in Nyack. The eight students represent Nyack High School, Clarkstown North High School, Rockland Country Day School and Clarkstown South High School. The festival will include three of this year's Academy Award-nominated short filmsand a selection of work from local filmmakers It also will showcase Tappan Zee High School alumnus Nick Sivakumaran's short film, "Diwali." Made as a student film in the University of Southern California's graduate program in cinema and television, it received the Directors Guild of America Student Film Award and was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Burns said shorts are often "calling cards" filmmakers use to break into the movie industry. "If they're done well, they can be just as powerful as a feature film," Burns said. Reach Khurram Saeed at ksaeed@thejournalnews.com or 845-578-2412. Short films nominated for Academy Awards: · "Gridlock" (Belgium, 7 minutes, 2002) A young man stuck in a traffic jam calls his wife from his new cell phone. · "Inja" (Australia, 17 minutes, 2002) On a South African farm during the apartheid years, a white landowner makes a brutal effort to sever the ties between a black boy and a puppy. · "Das Rad" (Germany, 8 minutes, 2002) Animation. Two rocks stand on a hilltop they have occupied for centuries, discussing the activities of the humans below. Also showing: · "Within the Void." Matt Bangs and Jeremy Bursky, Nyack High School · "The Rock Show." Ben Tesser, Clarkstown South High School · "Pipe Dream." Casey Predovic, Rockland Country Day School · "Sisters." Linzi Silverman, Clarkstown North High School · "Domestic Violence." Carly Wolff and Laura Caccavo, Clarkstown North High School · "The Untitleds." Andy Mitchell, Rockland Country Day School
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