Imagine being a filmmaker and having the first film you submit accepted into a film festival. Adam McGill of West Windsor had his film “Electrolytes” accepted into the Trenton Film Society’s Not Quite Legal Film Festival. The festival for 14 to 21 year-old New Jersey filmmakers will be held on Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton.
The Trenton Film Society is a non-profit organization with a mission bring together filmmakers, film professionals, community leaders, experts, and area residents of all ages to build an appreciation for the film arts, a better understanding of filmmaking, and to explore the issues and perspectives in a variety of films — from local to international.
McGill, a junior at the Pennington School, began his film career at Grover Middle School. He attended High School South in his freshman year before transferring to Pennington. “The school has a great film department,” he says. “Electrolytes,” filmed with a “thriller atmosphere,” focuses on a track runner with a rival that he tries to poison. The worm turns and he takes some of the poison.
McGill has also worked on several charity-oriented videos for HomeFront and CASA of Mercer County. “I really got involved in doing other projects using film in a useful way,” he says. Most of his work is in color.
Born in West Windsor, he is the son of Lori Morris, executive director of CASA Mercer County (Court Appointed Special Advocates); and Lawrence McGill, a director at the Foundation Center, an authority on organized philanthropy based in New York City. “They’ve really been behind me and are always there for me,” he says. His older brother, Mason, also a graduate of the Pennington School, is a student at Brown University. His younger sister, Alanna, is a student at Grover Middle School.
McGill will spend his summer at the National High School Institute’s immersion program for filmmakers at Northwestern University.
— Lynn Miller
Not Quite Legal Film Festival, Trenton Film Society, Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street, Trenton. Saturday, June 11, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Screening of films by 14 to 21 year-old New Jersey filmmakers. $10. 609-396-6966. www.trentonfilmfestival.org.
