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originally published: 03/20/2019

(RED BANK, NJ) -- The Count Basie Center for the Arts has announced official selections for its 2019 Teen + College Film Fest. The films were selected from a record number of submissions for a Basie Center student film competition. Each film will be shown on the Basie big screen during the official Teen + College Film Fest event, slated for Saturday, April 6th at the historic center for the arts.

Judging this year’s films will be Sony Pictures Classics co-founder and co-president Tom Bernard; Lakehouse Music Academy owner Jon Leidersdorf; television director Hanelle Culpepper (Criminal Minds, Gotham, Flash); Martha Pinson, film director and script supervisor for Martin Scorsese; Clerks and Mallrats star Brian O’Halloran; Kate Lear, Broadway producer and daughter of the legendary Norman Lear; Linda Safran of The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures; writer and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Michael Vickerman; 42West senior film marketing executive Scott Feinstein; Alex Biese of the Asbury Park Press; and Allison Tratner from the New Jersey Council on the Arts.

Laurels will be awarded to all official selections, while films will also compete for ‘Best Film,’ ‘Best Direction,’ ‘Best Documentary’ and ‘Best Narrative Film awards within their age categories. Winners in the high school and college “Best Direction” categories will also receive the opportunity for an internship experience with Sony Pictures Classics.

In addition, an onsite vote on April 6th will determine the winner of the festival’s ‘Audience Award,’ and the school with the single highest tabulated scores will receive a $100 cash award and Sony filmmaking equipment.

Scroll down for the list of films.

 

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Official selections (in alphabetical order):

A Beginning to a Clean Environment (Evis Dias Quintero, All Saints Episcopal Day School, Hoboken)

A Sensation (Kyle Farscht, Millburn High School)

Algebra Noir (Noah Resnick, Kean University)

Burn City (John Tuohy, Red Bank Regional High School)

Clark (Steven Ruggiero, Fordham University)

Clown (Keeley Giblin, Middletown South High School)

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover (Damian Rogowski, Marlboro Memorial Middle School)

Fermata (Jake Wichansky, New York University)

Goodbye Napolini's (Vaughn Battista, Communications High School, Wall)

KING (Matthew McIntyre, Mount Olive Middle School)

Life in Color (Devon Lorencovitz, Sussex County Technical High School)

Mob Mentality (Andrew Nussbaum, Morris County School of Technology)

My Name is Anon(ymous) (Jennifer Seitis, Ramapo College Of New Jersey)

Night Viper (Jared Duryea, Stockton University)

Ocean Pollution Documentary (Madelyn Brue, Ryane Fisahan, Sydney Mahieu, Memorial Middle School, Point Pleasant)

Prom Queens (Cory Souto, Syracuse University)

Rocky Road (Trent Algayer, Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands)

Rose of Jericho (Keeley Giblin, Middletown South High School)

Run (Ricardo Segarra, Rowan University)

Shoplifting - A PSA (Jill Lynch, Markham Place School, Little Silver)

The Art of Observation (Annie Fleisch, Howell High School)

The Crown Heights Riots: From Rage to Reconciliation (Alexander Fezza, Biotechnology High School, Freehold Township)

Uninspired (Truman Segal, West Orange High School)

Wanted (Isaiah Gomez, East Brunswick Tech - School of the Arts)

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Links to selected films will be posted at www.thebasie.org/filmfest.

This year marks the first time the Basie Center has opened its student film festival and competition to middle schoolers, as well as New Jersey high school graduates or residents attending college out-of-state.

“The benefits of filmmaking are enormous,” said Basie Center Vice President, Education, Yvonne Lamb-Scudiery. “This year’s film submissions were creatively conceived and excellent examples of the power of teamwork to tell a story.”   

“The Basie’s Teen + College Film Fest is one of the events I look forward to every year,” said Tom Bernard, co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics, who sits as a festival judge and will lead an industry roundtable for students on April 6. “The passion for film and the talent of these young filmmakers continues to inspire me.”

The Count Basie Center for the Arts is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey.