Princeton Public Library to host Princeton Student Film and Video Festival July 16-17
By Lacey Ross
In 2003, a small group of teens volunteering to organize film screenings at the Princeton Public Library had an idea.
It started with a concept called “First Takes,” which were sessions targeted for teens to watch the early, often amateur, films made by famous and successful filmmakers. When a few students asked if they could show some of their own amateur films, the Princeton Student Film and Video Festival was born.
“The first year was like 10 films,” said Susan Conlon, who works as festival director and head of youth services at the library. “It had a great energy, it was really exciting and the kids got a lot out of it. It was great to have the chance to have original content. That was the start and we’ve been doing it every year ever since.”
Those student films created a spark that continues to spread and grow each year. Today, the festival has drawn 183 film submissions from all over the world for this year alone, a pool which was narrowed to 20 for the library’s viewing event to be held July 16 and 17, from 7-9:30 p.m.
Open to ages 14-25, the contest and festival provides a valuable opportunity to young people to create and complete their own films. According to Conlon, many young filmmakers get started on projects, but need incentive to actually finish them.
“Often they’re in school and they are showing their work to their friends and their families, but to show it to an audience and have the feedback, the appreciation, that’s really an incentive to keep going,” she said.
In the past few years there have been over 100 attendees at each night of the festival. Those who make it out, Conlon explained, have a unique opportunity to step into the perspective of young people and witness the way they see the world through their films.
“People definitely walk away totally impressed by the detail, the storytelling, the inventiveness and the voice,” she said. “It’s artistic. It’s technical. It involves music, pacing, timing. It’s really inspiring.”
As time has passed and word about the festival spread, Conlon also reached out to film departments at schools and universities near and far to increase submissions and offer the opportunity to larger crowd. This has resulted in submissions not only from all over New York and New Jersey, but also from film students studying in foreign countries.
“I think it grew because it started out in a really authentic way involving young people,” she said. “We were really lucky that some of those first kids would come back year after year and there was a really good local energy to it. You can’t grow if you just keep relying on the same small pool of schools and filmmakers, so we started putting it out there a little more and people started reading about it.”
Viewers who attend the event can expect to see short films of all different genres and qualities, including animated films, drama, comedy, documentary, personal narrative and abstract, Conlon explained.
“We have everything from really quick, short, imaginative pieces, where you can see that there was some spark there, even if they didn’t have all the equipment,” she said. “We like to include the beginners with the most advanced so that the audience can see that these kids are working at this and getting better and better.”
This year’s submission deadline was June 1. While Conlon herself commits to watching every film that is sent in, she also invites others to help her create a “yes” list and a “maybe” list while narrowing down the winners.
“Most of them work at the library or they’re just people who, for several years, have volunteered,” she said. “Then we sometimes have high school students who will sit with us and watch together. They might see things in a slightly different way or they might have an area that they are more of an expert in, so their opinions are really important.”
One of those selected to show at this year’s festival is Zach Pughe-Sanford, a Princeton High graduate who will be showing his film, “Where’s Da Party At.”
Pughe-Sanford, who graduated from the University of Vermont in the spring with a degree majoring in film and television studies, now lives in Brooklyn. He is currently working as a summer intern at Black Magic Films in Brooklyn and the New York Television Festival in Manhattan. After his internships, he said he plans work as a freelancer wand hopefully get a job at a production studio.
“Where’s Da Party At” is the result of a project in his senior year of college involving German Film Director Werner Herzog.
Pughe-Sanford said that his film teacher took his class to a lecture featuring Herzog and documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. As part of the event, the instructor asked Herzog to shoot footage of his class with a Super 8 camera. The class was then tasked with making films using the footage filmed by the director. “Where’s Da Party At” was a result of that collaboration.
“That wasn’t my own title,” Pughe-Sanford said. “It came from the fact that in the footage Herzog had shot that phase was graffitied on a wall, and he told us to title our films by the same name.”
Pughe-Sanford said he was aware of the Princeton Library festival, decided to submit his film and was accepted.
He describes the seven-minute work as “a meditation on film versus digital and the age that we’re in. How people kind of drift together, and it’s told through a silent romance between a boy and a girl.”
For Pughe-Sanford, film has been something he has always loved, but he didn’t decide he wanted to pursue a career in the field until college.
“I’d always watched movies growing up, kind of unconsciously knowing I really enjoyed them,” he said. “I’d always go to the movies with my dad and my brother on Fridays, so that was always in my head. It wasn’t until freshman year in college, though, when I took an intro to film class that I really got interested in pursuing a career in it. I think it was because the professor I had for that class — who is a great friend now and my favorite professor ever throughout college — kind of sparked my interest and intrigue.
“He was heavy on film analysis and film theory and that I guess for some reason that really struck me as amazing that movies can have profound consequences on how we think about the world and I took that to heart. I try to incorporate that in everything I make. The idea of expanding our consciousness through film.”
Pughe-Sanford says that his ultimate goal is to be a director and starting his own production company.
“More than that,” he added, “I enjoy any form of artistic collaboration , especially in film. I love writing, I love editing and developing stories and producing them. I just love the whole process. So however I’m involved in any sort of film at all is extremely enjoyable to me.”
Conlon echoes Pughe-Sanford’s sentiments in her comments about the festival. She said said the film making process encourages students to work collaboratively with others on an “inventive” and “creative” venture. Typically, one film requires at least one camera person, a writer, an editor, a producer and actors. This helps them develop lifelong skills that can transfer into the workplace, no matter what career they end up chasing.
“Some of them are really serious about film making and want to make it a career,” she said. “For others, it’s a creative outlet. Either way, making these films is a valuable experience for them.”
Whether a submission is advanced and created with sophisticated equipment or completely amateur, the deciding factor for whether or not it makes it into the festival is the same for all films, according to Conlon. The artist must pay attention to craft and originality.
“I think it really it comes down to storytelling,” she said. “What are they saying? What’s the story they’re telling? How unique is it? Is it something 100 people could have made or is it like, ‘No, that’s their work,’ and does it stand out? And that is true out of the most basic films all the way to the most accomplished films.”
While it is too late to submit a film for this year’s festival, Conlon does have a suggestion for those who are interested in submitting one in the future.
“When you come to the festival, you get an idea of the kinds of films we’re choosing,” she said. “Anybody who is interested in film making and wants to submit for next year will be well advised to attend this year.”
Those who have questions or are interested in submitting a film for next year should contact Susan Conlon at sconlon@princetonlibrary.org.
