Ballard High School Filmmakers to be Featured at International Festival

Ten short films by students in the Ballard High School Video Production Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). This competitive festival showcases outstanding work by filmmakers age 22 and younger. This year, NFFTY received nearly 700 entries from all across the U.S. as well as 40 other countries. NFFTY opens at the Seattle Cinerama Theater on Thursday, April 28 and continues through Sunday at the Seattle Center.

Official Selections for NFFTY are determined by a jury of professional filmmakers. These short films by Ballard High School video students have been selected for screening.

Attention by Dana Baumgartner, Mia Montagna, Elise Neroutsos & Chloe Warner-Moyer

Buy-Sell-Trade by Emily Deering, Amelia Elizalde & Blair Scott

Dead End by Emma Hutchison, Kaila Lafferty, Karli Lafferty & Kirsten Zeller

Dino Utopia by Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman, Blair Scott & Ryan Zemke

Faces by Dana Baumgartner, Emma Hutchison & Chloe Warner-Moyer

Mr. Clean by Jamie Bennett, Louis Weissman & Maddy Yaple

Signs by Rikke Heinecke, Tony Meyer & Lizzy O’Laughlin

Super Zeroes by Lily Bennett, Levi Friedman & Sheridan Koehler

To Do by Mia Montagna, Elise Neroutsos & Ivy Vance

Without Our Cars by Sydney Jarol, Dylan Miller & Ryan Zemke

Between them, these shorts have previously been honored by the Young People’s Film & Video Festival, the nation-wide Derek Freese High School Film Festival coordinated by Temple University’s School of Film & Media Arts, and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Several of these films have been further honored by being selected for the high-profile Opening and Closing Night screenings. Signs has been programmed for Opening Night at the Cinerama, while Attention, Buy-Sell-Trade, Super Zeroes and To Do will be screened Closing Night.

Immediately following the Closing Night screening, Jury Prizes and Audience Awards will be announced. However, like the Sundance Film Festival, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking in addition to screenings and awards. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit www.nffty.org.

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School video alumnus Jesse Harris (’04). Harris made history in 2004 when Living Life, the feature film he had written and directed as a senior project, was purchased by FilmMates and given a theatrical release. (It opened in Seattle in April, 2005.) A growing list of sponsors and partners, such as Bing, Volvo, Nike 6.0, and IMBEE have paved the way for this fourth annual event.