Registration Closes Feb. 1 for Regional Student Film Festival

Nine film and TV pros from around Metro Detroit on Friday will encourage teen filmmakers already following their paths.

About 30 videos by high school students are entered in the ninth Orchard Lake Student Film Festival, a day-long event with workshops, awards and evening screenings for the public. Local students have until Wednesday, Feb. 1, to register for the event. 

For aspiring directors, producers and actors, the festival is a small-scale version of the Sundance Film Festival, a career-making indie showcase that ended Sunday in Utah. "Having work judged by professionals can be reassuring for students, letting them know they're on the right track," said video production instructor Kevin Walsh of , site of the festival.

He and Micah Greene, theater arts program director at the school, created the event as the West Bloomfield Film Festival in 2003. It was renamed and opened to other schools in 2009. "The festival seeks to encourage and promote the creative expression of some of Southeast Michigan's most promising young film artists," its mission statement says.

Outside entries this time are from high schools in Birmingham (Groves), Royal Oak, Walled Lake (Western), Lake Orion, Warren (Fitzgerald), Romeo and elsewhere.  

News and entertainment        

Entrants, classmates and teachers will gather at the host school for six hours that include an auditorium screening of all submissions in two categories -- news reports or public service announcements (up to three minutes) and dramatic, suspense comedy or docu-drama shorts (five to 20 minutes).

This is a day for video geeks who write scripts, shoot with their schools' professional-level equipment and edit digitally with Final Cut Pro.

A panel of judges will share comments and later select award recipients. Participants pay $5 to enter a film and $10 to attend.

It's an education event, so there's a limit on boldness. That means no raunchy music videos or edginess that might work on YouTube, though "school appropriate" is defined as equivalent to a PG rating ("some material may not be suitable for children).   

Community screening

Parents, relatives, neighbors and cinema buffs can see winners and runners-up at a $5 evening showcase, starting at 7 p.m. in the school, 4925 Orchard Lake Road.

"This is an excellent opportunity for people to see what students can produce," says independent producer John Prusak of Detroit, a festival speaker. "Because of advancements in technology, it has become easier for people to create their own film statements. A film made in West Bloomfield is just as possible as one made in Hollywood."

Prusak, a first-time presenter who helped judge past festivals, also is involved with the larger Michigan Student Film & Video Festival. The 44th annual showcase for film, video and animation work by students from elementary through high school is April 28 at the Detroit Film Theatre. It's sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Arts and Digital Arts, Film and Television, a nonprofit education group.

"Hats off to students who dare to be original and create their own digital media for the world to see," says Prusak, a board member.

Young actress speaks

At Friday's six morning and afternoon workshops in West Bloomfield, students will hear from him and other industry specialists — including three who studied under Walsh and Micah last decade and still address them as "Mr."

"I'm honored they have asked me speak," says first-timer Courtney Zimmer of Orchard Lake, a Class of '08 graduate who's a senior at Oakland University. She has appeared in three films and a national Chevrolet commercial last fall.

Zimmer, 22, says she'll talk Friday afternoon about why "it's very important for actors to have at least a basic understanding of the job of a director, editor, cinematographer, and vice versa. Film is a collaborative project."

Older presenters "are doing it because they really wish they had something like this when they were students," Walsh said.

These are the other speakers:

• Scott Kodrik, who'll kick off the day with a keynote address, is a 40-year-old screenwriter, director and owner of a special effects company in Redford. He graduated from  in 1989.
• Michael Rubyan, a 25-year-old documentary maker returning to the school he graduated from in 2005. He'll conduct an afternoon workshop with Prusak, who also makes documentaries.  
• Aaron Lebovic, a 26-year-old production manager from West Bloomfield. He  worked on the Detroit 1-8-7 network show and an upcoming feature film, Oz, directed by Royal Oak native Sam Raimi.
• Harry Akers, a lighting designer who owns Light Works, Inc. of Rochester Hills. He'll also talk about the role of grips, who set up lights, camera cranes and tracks, as well as other film set rigging.
• Ric Viers, a 39-year-old repeat presenter from Macomb Township. He's an internationally known sound effects designer and author of The Sound Effects Bible. Viers returned last week from an industry convention in Anaheim, CA, and film discussions in Los Angeles.
• Gary Schwartz a Detroit animator nominated for an Academy Award in 1983. He's a lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, where he graduated in 1979. He has 67 short films on YouTube.    
• Nik Drankoski of Eastpointe, a sound mixer and music composer.

The event website is OrchardLakeFilmFest.com.