Fashionably dressed filmmakers sashayed down the red carpet as adoring fans cheered and snapped photographs. Not the Academy Awards. Not the Tonys. Nope, not the Primetime Emmys.
But no less magical for students and loved ones: The Sunderland Elementary School (SES) Second and Third Grade Film Festival!
“Over the last few months our students explored the art of filmmaking,” said SES teacher Charleigh Carthy. “They created wonderful mini movies and commercials and learned so much. It was only right to showcase their work to friends and families, so we rolled out the red carpet and put on a show.”
This extravaganza started with Carthy searching for a new way to teach her students the art of storytelling. She had studied cinema during her four years at Burr and Burton Academy. She knew film and writing storytelling have the same basic structure: a beginning, middle and an end. She decided to give moving pictures a try.
Carthy tasked her students to create, film, and edit their own mini-movie featuring stuffed animals (Plushies) and a “bad-product” commercial. Each project required script writing, drafting story boards to help organize the productions, acting, and much more.
To help lend a hand with her new approach, Carthy reached out to Bill Muench, her former high school cinema instructor. Muench has retired from BBA and launched his own successful career as a documentary filmmaker, but he was game to help out.
(Note to reader: Muench’s award winning documentary, The Artist & the Astronaut, can be found on Amazon Prime. Now back to our story.)
“I always enjoy working with my former students and I love spreading the word about making films,” said Muench, currently on his second post retirement production. “As an added attraction, three of Charleigh’s pupils are the children of students I taught at BBA. There’s no way I could say no.”
Starting in February, an hour was set aside each week for “Muench Camp,” where the aspiring filmmakers were trained by a professional in the fundamentals of cinema. The most basic lesson: making movies is a team sport. A successful projection requires collaboration from a variety of contributors — writers, editors, set designers, actors, technicians — and they need to work closely together.
And that’s exactly what the Sunderland students did. By the end of May each of Carthy’s 14 students had produced a Plushy movie and bad-product commercial — with a little help from their friends. The stuffed animals were featured in tales about homework, nightmares, bullying, and a duel between Spiderman and a donkey to name just a few.
That bad-product commercials allowed humans to show up on camera in a (desperate) attempt to sell a shoddy creation. Would you want to purchase an excruciatingly loud alarm clock, a too big to carry water bottle, extremely sticky glue, or an uncomfortable chair?
“It’s only $9,999 for the chair,” said the seat salesman. “But I only have $3,” said the customer. “But it’s on sale,” uttered the pitchman. “Okay," whispered the buyer.
After multiple weeks of refining their craft and producing their movies and commercials, invitations to the Sunderland Film Festival went out to families and friends with a reminder to dress up fancy for the extravaganza.
Professor Muench showed up in a black tuxedo and performed the duties of Master of Ceremonies. Carthy came prepared with awards highlighting the special talents of each student: Future Story Teller, Future Set Designer, Future Action Hero and more.
When the audience settled in their seats, the lights dimmed and the magic appeared on the screen.
“It made me feel excited and nervous,” said one young producer. “I was scared because I didn't know if people would like our films, but I was also excited that people got to see them!”
And, that’s a wrap!
(Photo above: The Master of Ceremony Bill Muench celebrates with some of the SES Award winners at the Film Festival.)
List of Awards at the Sunderland Elementary School Second & Third Grade Film Festival:
Future Creative Director: Taylor Gault, For staying organized and helping projects come together!
Future TV Star: Student A, For bringing personality and excitement to every project!
Future Filmmaker: Henry Edmunds, For bringing stories to life with creativity and teamwork!
Future Storyteller: Kenzie Young, For creating thoughtful and imaginative story ideas!
Future Set Designer: Theo Murphy, For using creativity and imagination to design amazing scenes and props!
Future Film Editor: William Lawrence, For carefully putting ideas together and helping projects shine!
Future Producer: Levi Annunziata, For leading with teamwork, kindness, and always helping the crew!
Future Screenwriter: Alexis Desmarias, For using imagination and creativity to tell amazing stories!
Future Story Creator: Student B, For creating fun, original, and imaginative ideas!
Future Movie Star: Chandler Barrios, For bringing confidence, expression, and energy to every performance!
Future Film Editor: Jay Johnson, For carefully putting scenes and ideas together in creative ways!
Future Performer: Zeezee Mason, For bringing creativity, confidence, and excitement to every project!
Future Set Designer: Ayla Short, For bringing creative ideas to life through set and prop design!
Future Action Star: Grady Zoufaly, For bringing energy, confidence, and excitement to every scene!
Former BBA instructor Bill Muench and SES teacher Charleigh Carthy join the Sunderland filmmakers for a group photo session at the Second and Third Grade Film Festival.
This young director arranges the stuffed animal performers for a scene in a Plushy mini-movie.
The Sunderland filmmakers walk down the Red Carpet and greet the audience at the school’s Second and Third Grade Film Festival.
Former BBA cinema instructor Bill Muench passes along the fundamentals of film making to the Sunderland filmmakers at “Muench Camp.”
Sunderland filmmaker students enjoy front row seats at the Film Festival screenings of their mini-movies and bad-product commercials.