LYNN — When the sixth annual Boston International Kids Film Festival takes place this weekend, student filmmakers from the Real to Reel (R2R) program at Raw Art Works will be in the spotlight. Five short documentaries written, directed and produced by local youth will be screened at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
The student films are among the 50 being shown over three days — Nov. 16-18 — that were selected from throughout the United States and countries including Australia, Brazil, India, Taiwan and Egypt.
The locally-made documentaries are “City of Sin” by Julianna Gallant, “Civil Discourse?” by Hunter Wanger, “Dear Introvert” by Karla Mejia, “My Black Is. …” by Miguel Valdez and Eunice Beato, and “Picking” by Emily Wood.
“All of these films are wonderful,” said Rachel St. Pierre, manager of RAW’s R2R Filmschool program. “People want to see real films made by younger filmmakers.” The Peabody native said RAW staffers provided support and guidance as needed. The finished films, she emphasized, fulfills the vision of the student filmmakers and is their work. “I stand by every one, every piece of art we put out there. These are great,” she said. Some 60 students take part in the program.
Gallant, 18, a senior at English High who’s participated in RAW programs for more than eight years, said she fought through writer’s block while making “City of Sin.” That’s hard to be believe, given the poetic nature of her voice-overs. She compares herself to the city she loves thusly: “We’re both just beautiful structures built on cracked foundations.” Her reworking of the “City of Sin” poem offers hope, for her, her city and the diverse newcomers who now call Lynn home. She thanks Arturo Gonzalez-Barrios with helping with the editing and animation techniques that are interspersed with video of the city. “A lot of people think Lynn is bad. It’s not,” she said.
Wanger, 16, a Marblehead High junior, said for “Civil Discourse?” he took to the streets of Lynn and Marblehead, armed with a camera, “accosting people” and asking them for their thoughts on how to make political discussion in America more civil and less violent.
About half of the folks he asked for their thoughts told Wanger to take a hike. During filming near the beach in Lynn, Wanger said a man sat on a bench and laughed at him. Some responses ended up on the cutting room floor. “It was intimidating at times,” he said. Still, he persevered and successfully got cogent responses from about a dozen people, an encouraging smile from a baby and supportive woofs from a couple of dogs.
“Civil Discourse?” also received a positive reception at an international film festival in Vancouver. Wanger, who said he’s interested in politics, has been making movies since middle school and got to attend the screening in Canada. “I didn’t think that many people would see my film.”
Valdez, 17, a senior at KIPP Academy who has participated in RAW programs for eight years, said ” ‘My Black Is. …’ features several young women of color who set out to redefine what black is to them.” Beato, 17, a spoken word artist, came up with the concept and Valdez directed and handled filming. It was previously selected to play at The Melanin Pride Film Festival at Harvard Law School. “That was something,” said Valdez, with a smile. “I never thought my film would go anywhere other than in here. It still hasn’t sunk in that my film has had an impact on many people.”
In “Dear Introvert,” filmmaker Mejia, 15, a Classical High sophomore, is shown walking through Lynn Woods, talking about her quiet personality. “It’s been an aggravating adventure with you (dear introvert). I’m not an open person and I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
Mejia said her first film is about “introverts who become friends in the end.” “Picking,” is about Wood’s love of music and her Fender Stratocaster. In eighth-grade she met a boy who played lead guitar in a rock band; she started playing guitar so they’d have something in common. “I met the boy, broke up with the boy, but kept the guitar,” she cheekily says in the film. Wood, 17, a senior at St. Mary’s High, is active in the theater program there.
The mission of the Boston International Kids Film Festival is to inspire kids to use the medium to tell their own stories, said Laura Azevedo, executive director of Filmmakers Collaborative, the festival’s presenter.
“The festival is all about kids. In a city that provides ample opportunity for adults to watch independently-made feature films and documentaries, we wanted to create an event geared specifically toward middle and high school students and their families,” said Azevedo. “The student-made films are particularly fun to watch. The stories are as varied as the filmmakers and the skill level of the producer/directors have a broad range, but their voices are proud and brave and we are happy to magnify them.”
For a complete film festival schedule and tickets, go to bikff.org. All screenings are open to the public. The Real to Reel student films will be shown Saturday, Nov. 17, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., at the Somerville Theatre. In addition, the Real to Reel program will hold a free screening of these five documentaries and more student films at Lynn Auditorium, Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m.
