What started out as a small student-centered film festival hosted by Elk Grove High School has now turned into an international event.
The CinéStudent Film Festival is in its seventh year, and has accepted films from students all over the world. This year, in spite of COVID, the festival has received the most submissions it has ever had, most from places outside of the United States.
“It’s astounding,” said Bruce Janu, the director of the CSFF. “We have had submissions from places that have never submitted before. In fact, only 41% of the submissions came from the United States this year.”
Among the countries represented at this year’s festival are Iran, Egypt, Canada, France, Ireland, Kenya, Indonesia, Poland, Taiwan and Hungary. And that’s just the few who were selected for the festival. Many more submitted.
“All told, students from some 25 countries had submitted this year,” said Janu. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t accept them all.”
The festival is all virtual again this year, and will stream live on Friday evening starting at 7pm on the CSFF website and YouTube channel. The show will run about 2 hours or so, with an opportunity for a global audience to vote on their favorite film at the conclusion of the screening.
Then the winners will be announced on Saturday at 1pm, with awards for Best Performance, Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects, Best Screenplay, Best Animation, and Best Film. Plus, an Audience Award will also be given.
More information can be found at http://www.cinestudentfilmfest.org
