The Taos News

‘It’s Your Film’

UNM–Taos, Film Prize Junior New Mexico are growing the next generation of storytelle­rs

- STAFF REPORT For more informatio­n, visit filmprizen­m.com.

ON FEB. 10, UNM–TAOS FILM

and Digital Media Arts (FDMA) hosted students from Film Prize Junior New Mexico for a demo of the new FDMA space on Klauer campus and to take part in a filmmaking workshop for high school students. The workshop gave the budding filmmakers the opportunit­y to describe their films and get feedback from FDMA faculty and the program’s advanced internship students about ways to proceed with their projects.

Film Prize Junior New Mexico is an initiative from the creators of the award-winning Louisiana Film Prize and Film Prize Junior Louisiana in partnershi­p with the Stagecoach Foundation. Film Prize Junior is a student short film competitio­n for middle and high school students across the state of New Mexico. There are 120 film projects in the works around the state readying for entry into the Film Prize Junior competitio­n.

“This project is an opportunit­y for the students to find their voices,” Film Prize Junior New Mexico Director Rosey Hayett told the room. “It’s your film.”

The attending student groups — some with their teachers on-hand

— hailed from Taos High School, Taos Cyber Magnet School, Red River Valley Charter School, and Taos Integrated School of the Arts.

For this competitio­n, educators and students work together to create a concept, write a story and produce and edit a short film, with help from Film Prize team members and film mentors. If an entrant to the festival makes it through the competitio­n, their short film (3-10 minutes) will be showcased at the Film Prize Junior New Mexico Film Festival on April 1 in Albuquerqu­e.

Furthermor­e, entries can qualify for huge prizes, including equipment grants for the schools, scholarshi­ps for the students and cash rewards for the educators. The inaugural Film Prize Junior New Mexico Film Festival was held in 2021.

Roughly 20 students started the conversati­on by discussing their film script ideas, needs and concerns during an open forum. Some of the needs expressed by the student filmmakers were advice on advanced script developmen­t and everything from props to costumes.

Then, they broke up into their individual school teams to discuss topics in more depth with the mentors.

In regard to challenges, Hayett said

a common thread he heard from the students was “time, locations and transporta­tion.” The students can film outside of class but because of other obligation­s and/or lack of a ride, they often can’t.

“Time is their biggest challenge,” Hayett said. “But that is one of the benefits of this collaborat­ion — learning about time management.”

Most of the students are using their phones to film. All of the films must be original works, including any graphics and animation. They also receive virtual support, such as editing workshops.

Red River Valley Charter School is working on a Western complete with a bar fight and breakaway glass.

TISA has chosen an emotional story to film about a young boy’s grief over the death of his dad and flashbacks on the amazing meals they ate together. When gently pressed by mentors about any resolution in the end of their script, the students elaborated on the personal growth aspect of the story in relation to the boy’s emotional healing.

Taos Cyber Magnet School is going the thriller route, and the THS project is an animated film about “a dude running from a monster through various portals.” Hayett inquired of the THS trio how they saw their film ending and,

after a few minutes of sharing ideas and some laughs, they had a clearer picture — literally.

“This was a chance to show these students the UNM–Taos campus environmen­t for future considerat­ion and also give them tips on how to make their movies,” said FDMA director Peter Walker.

Film Prize Junior screens all short film entries that complete the required forms, so long as they adhere to the rules and guidelines. If a school enters a short film that meets the criteria, then the film will be seen at the in-person festival and virtually around the world. All qualifying short film submission­s will be available to screen on the Film Prize Junior festival page until the virtual festival begins for the following competitio­n cycle.

 ?? COURTESY PETER WALKER ?? Film students from Taos High School, Red River Valley School, TISA and Taos Cyber Magnet School who are producing short films for a state competitio­n took advantage of a filmmaking Q&A at UNM–Taos.
COURTESY PETER WALKER Film students from Taos High School, Red River Valley School, TISA and Taos Cyber Magnet School who are producing short films for a state competitio­n took advantage of a filmmaking Q&A at UNM–Taos.

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