The BCSD Student Film Festival is open to all enrolled district students from grades K-12. All students need to take part is access to a smartphone. With the help of friends and family, students can make a short film under 2 minutes and submit it to be included in this year’s Student Film Festival! Work on your video project from now until the submission deadline of April 17, 2023. This year, there will be a range of workshops in the community from January to March to help students create a project for the festival. See the events section to learn more about each workshop. The film festival will be in mid-May this year at Beacon High School. More details to follow about this epic red carpet event, so stay tuned! In the meantime, happy filmmaking!

The maximum film length for each submission is 2 minutes. We assume most students will use a smartphone to make their film / video project. File formats we can accept include .mov files (for Apple) and .mp4 (for Android). The submission deadline for the 2023 Student Film Festival is April 17. A parent or caregiver must sign off on their child’s participation in the film festival. A parent or caregiver is responsible for overseeing their student’s project. Take extra care when filming outside. Family members, friends, and teachers are welcome to help students make their films! When you are ready to submit your project, complete this form and follow the email instructions.

The BCSD Student Film Festival is a community celebration of our students’ creativity and powers of imagination! Content submitted for the festival should be suitable for general community viewing. Elementary students’ film projects must be suitable for General Audiences. Middle and High School students may want to explore more mature topics, but their film projects must observe PG-13 guidelines to ensure suitability for the festival. Students have free rein over their film topic. Students might consider documentary topics such as local history, a favorite place in Beacon, a challenge you have overcome, or an interview with someone you look up to in the community. Narrative films could include comedies, dramas, fan fiction, spoofs, or stop-motion animation. Non-narrative films could include abstract or figurative work set to music. The sky's the limit!

Yes! It may sound daunting, but even the simplest story idea shot with basic camerawork can be very powerful. Our inspiration for this event came from Michael Bridenstine, a middle school teacher in NYC. He founded and co-produces the P.S. 187 Film Festival at his son’s school each year. Kids as young as 1st graders have submitted their films to the festival. They have screened over 350 films to date! Michael has some encouraging tips for students, families, and supporting teachers on how to make a great short film here: www.187ff.com/

Great! If the Film Fest is something that would tie in well with your classes’ work and you would like to integrate a film project (either individual or groups), let the Foundation know and we can provide additional resources to support you. Email is the best way to reach our team: info@forbeaconschools.org

The 2023 BCSD Student Film Festival will take place on Saturday May 13 at Beacon High School. Due to the level of interest so far, we anticipate that this year’s festival will feature two separate screenings, one in the afternoon for elementary students’ films, and one in the evening for middle and high school students’ films. Exact screening times and the link to our ticketing website will be posted in early April. We can’t wait to see you for another exciting red-carpet event and celebration of student creativity!

If you are an individual or with a business and you’d like to become a sponsor for this special community event, please contact the Foundation Board by emailing us at info@forbeaconschools.org or call us at 845-288-3009.

We recognize our sponsors in a variety of ways before and during the film festival. Your support will make this magical event sparkle and will advance the work of the Foundation! Thank you.