By Gene Lee and Claire Lew
The fourth annual Film Festival, on April 20 in Rugby Auditorium, will feature short films by students from seven private and public schools. Out of the 90 films submitted, the festival will show 15, five of which were made by Harvard-Westlake students.
Submissions had to be ten minutes or less and under the appropriate category, such as narratives, documentaries, music videos or comedies. This yearâs guest speaker will be Jason Reitman â95, director of the film âThank You for Smoking.â Previous speakers have included actor Jake Gyllenhaal â93, director Brett Ratner and actress Jamie Lee Curtis â76.
Co-directors Alex Wilk â07 and Lizzie Barcay â07 watched all 90 submissions in a prescreening process before sending them to a selection committee consisting of students, Visual Arts teacher Cheri Gaulke and Performing Arts teacher Ted Walch.
âThe selection committee looks for a total package â we want films that are well thought out and well made that tell a good story,â Wilk said.
The films are currently with the four celebrity judges, who will score the chosen films and determine the awards. This yearâs judges are producer Bonnie Curtis, actor Peter Gallagher (Jamey â08), entertainment lawyer Sam Fischer and cinematographer Lance Accord.
