ACADEMY NOMINATES BALLARD FILM STUDENTS FOR NATIONAL STUDENT PRODUCTION AWARDS

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced nominees for the National Student Production Awards.  These nominees were selected from top prize winners at regional Emmy Awards ceremonies across the country last spring.  Four productions by students in Ballard High School’s Digital Filmmaking Program won top prizes in the five-state Northwest Region last June.  Three of these have now been nominated at the national level. 

Nominated for best Short Form Fiction is The Dragon’s Lair by PJ Hase, Jonny Cechony & Ellie Clarrissimeaux.  Today by Coleman Andersen, PJ Hase and Bergen Johnson is nominated for best Music Video, and Miles Andersen, Emily Black, Sophie DeGreen, Jesse Romero & Sho Schrock are nominated for best Editor for their work on Hologram.  All these productions can be viewed on the Digital Filmmaking Program’s vimeo page at www.vimeo.com/bhsfilmprogram . 

The Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has presented High School Awards of Excellence for years to celebrate and promote the most outstanding high school television productions from five Northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.  This year, the Academy has added a national level to the competition.  The awards presentation will be held at the Newseum in Washington, DC at 12:30 pm (EST) on October 4.  The event will be streamed live at https://livestream.com/tndv-television/StudentProductionAwards .

All of Ballard’s nominated productions had their premiere at the Ballard Film Festival (BFF).  The next BFF will be on Friday, February 10 at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium.  Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults, and will be sold at the door.  

NATIONAL FESTIVAL TO SCREEN WORK BY BHS FILMMAKERS

Ten films by twenty-one students in the Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking Program have been named Official Selections of the All American High School Film Festival.  This is the largest high school film festival in the world; it receives entries from high school filmmakers throughout the country.  The event runs October 7 - 9 in New York City at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, AMC Theatres Times Square, and the historic Kings Theater.  

The films were evaluated by prestigious judges such as screenwriter Diablo Cody, documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and actors Kristen Stewart and Dylan McDermott.  Official Selections are eligible for awards in a number of categories.  Awards will be presented at the Teen Indie Awards at the conclusion of the festival.

Here, by category, is the list of Official Selections by Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking students.

COMEDY

Criminal Design by Miles Andersen, Jonathan Bowers, Jonny Cechony, PJ Hase & Cecilia O’Rollins

DOCUMENTARY

GeoFORCE: A Journey to Understanding by Leo Pfeifer & Raven Two Feathers

Raven Rock by Rachel Cole, Jaya Flanary & Meagen Tajalle

DRAMA

Comeback by Avery Davis, Skala Leake, Aaron Miller & Cameron Miller

Anne by Rachel Cole, Jaya Flanary & Meagen Tajalle

MUSIC VIDEO

Big Coat by Jaya Flanary, Duncan Gowdy & Leo Pfeifer

Voices by Aurore Bouriot, Jonathan Bowers, Brian Cropp & Jake Rehfeldt 

PSA

Protect Your Hearing by Elliott Atkinson, Cyrus Ogle & Bailey Wall

Two pieces produced independently by BHS film students also made the festival:  Climate Change by Leo Pfeifer and Meagen Tajalle is an Official Selection in the PSA category, and Moving Forward by Leo Pfeifer is a finalist for the Josten’s Project Yearbook prize.