In front of an excited audience, the community watched films depicting, among other storylines, the fragile ecosystem of Guangxi dolphins, a difficult sacrifice made by a struggling mother, a PSA regarding the harmful effects of misogynistic comments, and the heartwarming story of a young girl and her loyal dog. The 11th Annual Hotchkiss Film Festival, featuring short films submitted by students from Hotchkiss and other schools, were considered by a panel of three accomplished judges for a wide range of awards. Of the 16 films, which were showcased in Walker Auditorium on Saturday, May 28, six won Best Cinematography, Best Documentary, Best Editing, Best Sound Design, Best Super Short, and Grand Jury Prize. The Hotchkiss Film Club began the planning process in February when Harry Morelli ’23, Margie Bowen ’22, co-heads of the club, and their board elicited 65 submissions, a new record in the school’s film festival history, of which included the work of the school’s film students — Bowen, Morelli, Sada Schumann ’22, and Doug Wang ’23. During the selection process, Morelli and Ms. Ann Villano, instructor in film, whittled the entries down to a program of 16 fIlms.
This year’s judges were local filmmakers Donna Murphy, a former executive from Discovery Channel; Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Anne Makepeace, and Josh Zeman, who currently has a series, Sons of Sam: Descent into Darkness, on Netflix and another documentary, The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52, currently in theaters. The Film Festival was founded by Carla Frankenbach ’12 and Brian Ryu ’13 in 2011 to provide high school students with the opportunity to have their work seen and meet people in the film industry. This year’s winners were announced at the end of the evening. After conferring, the judges awarded the Grand Jury prize to Morelli for his film, Lose It, about a stressed student, played by Kate Moran ’23, who breaks out dancing to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” in the library. Doug Wang ’23 won Best Documentary for Dolphin Diaries, a film he shot last summer while working with a group of scientists in Guangxi. Myron and Away Now were directed and filmed on campus by Bowen and Schumann, respectively.
Morelli said about the experience: “It felt amazing knowing that my film was finally being appreciated by a larger audience and that all my hard work paid off. It felt truly magical when my name appeared in the credits and the entire audience erupted in applause.”
When asked about her hopes for the Film Festival’s future, Bowen largely credited alumnus Luke Gardiner. “Luke’s legacy… in the film department is beyond insane…The Film Club is trying really hard to be able to match the amount of work he’s done and the success of last year’s Festival. A big part of the Festival is spreading awareness on the school’s film facilities, especially for Lower Mids deciding if they want to continue photography or switch to film,” Bowen said.
As one of the heads of Film Club, Ben Johnson ’22 reflected upon his memories of the movie trips to the Millerton Moviehouse. He said, “My favorite memory of the club was when Marvel movies like Shang- Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings came out. I saw at least a hundred kids on buses to Millerton going to enjoy the movies, which was the hard work of the Film Club.” While he does not plan on working in the film industry, Johnson’s passion for movies will stay with him as he moves onto Bowdoin College.
Bowen’s favorite memory of Film Club was the panel discussion last April featuring four Hotchkiss alumni currently working in Hollywood. For her, it was a wonderful experience to meet them, learn about their artistic processes, and hear different perspectives regarding film. She said, “Learning from Luke [Gardiner], I was able to discover a long-lasting passion and curiosity by exploring different cameras and techniques, and sharing that knowledge with Harry.”
Morelli and other student filmmakers are looking forward to directing new projects next year and building on this year’s effort for the 12th Annual Film Festival.
