Showcasing the Voices of Teens

There are many traditions in the close-knit town of Princeton, and the annual Princeton Student Film and Video Festival is one of them.
 
Hosted by the Princeton Public Library, and sponsored by Johnson and Johnson and The Bent Spoon, the eighth year of this festival lived up to expectations. Jenna Ho said, “The film festival this year was better than the previous years. The films were a lot more interesting and they were all really well done.”
 
With the abundance of digital media, Film Screening Committee Member  Marilyn Campbell said, “It’s become a lot easier for students to produce films, as there is more access to digital equipment, and it is less expensive than older film equipment.” This year, the festival became increasingly selective as only 24 films were chosen from over one hundred entries, with submissions by filmmakers from places ranging from Princeton to Hong Kong, and ranging in length from one to 17 minutes.
 
With more submissions, a variety of genres are represented, as films ranged from a Pixar-style animated film to a tale of the Vietnam War. Filmmakers also incorporated a wide range of shot angles, screen effects, etc, highlighting the mixture of artistic style among filmmakers.
 
The films were carefully selected by members of the Film Screening Committee, who worked with Teen Services librarian Susan Conlon to choose an array of entertaining films. Rachel Klebanov, a rising senior at Princeton High School and member of the Film Screening Committee said, “A lot of the films were sad and about death. We wanted some happy in there, so the happy ones had a good shot.”
 
The festival screened films that came from both novice and experienced directors. Ms. Conlon said, of the variety and selection process, “You can see that we have some more advanced films and some films that are clearly the first films of the filmmakers. They all share that something that makes them special. We’re looking for films that are fun and unique.”
 
The festival was originally created by Ms. Conlon, after the library screened a film series called “First Takes,” made by novice filmmakers. She said, “We then thought that the high school kids could show their films. It started as a very local thing and grew bigger.” However, although the festival has grown and attracts submissions by more experienced filmmakers, Ms. Conlon said, “We still make sure to showcase the voices of teens.”