NFFTY to Feature Shorts by Ballard High School Filmmakers

Three short films by students in the Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking Program have been named Official Selections of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). This competitive festival showcases outstanding work by filmmakers age 24 and younger. NFFTY is a rare opportunity for high school students to share the spotlight with college students from our nation’s best undergraduate and graduate film schools. This year NFFTY will feature 248 films from 30 states and 25 countries. Screeners made the selections from a pool of nearly 1,000 entries. NFFTY opens at the Seattle Cinerama Theater on Thursday, April 23 and continues through Sunday, April 26 at the Seattle Center.

These short films by Ballard High School film students have been selected for screening.

Air Pressure by Coleman Andersen, Leo Pfeifer & Josh Vredevoogd

Clipped Wings by Coleman Andersen, Duncan Gowdy & Leo Pfeifer

Stolen by Coleman Andersen & Leo Pfeifer

BHS also has a team competing in the 48-hour Film Off. Teams from 10 high schools have two days to produce a short from start to finish. The winner (selected in part by the audience) will win funds for their school’s production program. Ballard’s team consists of Lyric Gonzalez, Bergen Johnson, Leo Pfeifer, Stephanie Shao and Meagen Tajalle. You can catch the 48-Hour Film Off – and cast your vote - on Saturday, April 25 at 1:30 pm at the Uptown 1 Theater.

In addition to screenings and awards, NFFTY includes forums on filmmaking. For a complete schedule of events, show times, and ticket information, visit www.nffty.org.

NFFTY itself is the brainchild of Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking 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.) The festival was co-founded by Harris, Kyle Seago (’07) – a Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking student at the time - and Jocelyn RC (Bellevue High School, ’07). A growing list of sponsors and partners paved the way for this ninth annual event.