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Media
Young
filmmakers inspired by Michigan film festival
by 8-18 Media
The fifth annual Traverse City Film Festival wrapped up early
last month, but its influence is continuing on in the minds of
the many young, aspiring filmmakers from Michigan who attended.
Youth from the Traverse City area, as well as other areas of the
state, are attending the festival each year to have fun, watch
films and become inspired to make their own types of films.
The festival was founded by Michigan filmmaker Michael Moore and
a group of friends five years ago. It quickly expanded, and this
year organizers are boasting 96,000 admissions––up from
80,000 last year. The motto for the festival was “Just Great
Movies.” It was billed as more of a viewing festival than
a distribution festival such as Sundance or Cannes. It also appears
to have created a bit of a filmmaking renaissance, at least among
young people in the Traverse City area.
Katerina Gawronski, sixteen, of Clarkston, assisted with the painting
of the cells in the animation short (“Cuddle Monster”)
that was screened during a festival feature called Shorts by Students.
Gawronski said she and other young filmmakers picked up things
during the festival that they wouldn’t be able to learn elsewhere.
“The festival is amazing,” she said. “My favorite
things would be the filmmaker panels and the film school. The
panels are full of really experienced filmmakers who share everything
they know so you get a lot of really good information as well
as some great inspiration.”
The week-long event featured daily discussion panels made up of
filmmakers who have works at the festival, as well as daily film
school sessions on various filmmaking topics. The panels are free
and the film school is only $3, making it affordable for youth.
Casey Aaron Voss, thirteen, of Traverse City, who is just starting
out in filmmaking, said he gained some useful knowledge from attending
the festival film school.
“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “I
really enjoyed the documentary workshop. I learned a few tips
about different things in editing.”
Adin Harmon, sixteen, of Traverse City, who has a longer film
ready to submit next year and assisted with some filming for a
documentary on the festival’s fifth anniversary, also gained
some specific skills during the week.
“I’ve been working on my free-hand filmmaking skills,”
he said. “Just keeping the camera steady. I’ve learned
about how to shoot crowd shots and how to work with a group of
people.”
Helping to create this filmmaking renaissance in Traverse City
is the Interlochen Arts Academy, a private arts school located
south of the city. The school has a filmmaking program that brings
in students from around the nation. There also are several after-school
media programs in some of the Traverse City Public Schools. Another
outlet is a nonprofit art center, known as The Art Place on Union
Street in Traverse City. The Art Place, which would be missed
by all who pass on the street, is located in the basement of a
building housing other shops. Area youth are invited there to
use film equipment and work on projects.
Kayleigh Schneider, seventeen, of Suttons Bay, became interested
in filmmaking from her older brother who also is involved. She
likes the energy of The Art Place.
“It’s just a good space and it has all this energy,”
she said. “You can bounce ideas for movies off other people
and see what they think. You have a ton of support and they have
all the equipment to make movies.”
Clayton Queen, sixteen, of Traverse City, played a major role
in creating an animated short called “Fruit” that was
shown during the Shorts by Students screening. In the short, which
is set inside a refrigerator, a gang of nasty yogurt containers
kidnap a pear with an evil plot to make some pear yogurt. Other
fruit in the fridge hatch an operation to rescue the pear. Queen
got his start in filmmaking by programs offered at The Art Place.
“There is a nice studio there that I used,” he said.
“[Fruit is] just a fun little animation. I’ve really
enjoyed working on that one.”
Voss said his interest in filmmaking started by using toys most
kids own.
“I just did Lego animations—that’s where I started,”
he said. “It just sort of came to me one day. I just had
an idea to do stop motion animation, and I just did some experimenting
and found that it was really fun.”
Jon Casey, nineteen, of Southfield, is a skater and grew up watching
skateboard movies. From watching them, he decided he wanted to
begin producing them and he started doing so in eighth grade.
Now a college sophomore, Casey made a video montage right before
the festival started featuring scenery from around the Grand Traverse
Bay. While filming, Casey said he had the kind of experience many
filmmakers hope come across.
“This one guy snorkeled all the way from the lighthouse in
that little river all the way to a little beach and there were
these fishermen on the beach and he got caught up in their lines
on his way up to shore,” he said. “The first thing he
did when he got to shore was ask for a cigarette and he was just
really funny.”
Gawronski became interested in filmmaking during an art class
at her school.
“One of the requirements (at her school) is you had to take
a class in the arts. So I decided to take a film class, and it
was amazing. After that I loved it,’ she said.
During the festival, Traverse City filmmaker Rich Brauer, cinematographer
of “Escanaba in Da Moonlight” and director of “Mr.
Art Critic,” was named the 2009 Michigan Filmmaker of the
Year. Brauer feels the festival will go a long way toward supporting
his art in Michigan.
“I think it’s a fantastic thing. It’s important
for this festival to involve people of all ages,” he said.
“It’s all about storytelling and that does not have
an age preference. There are young kids that have great stories
to tell that are stirred in their soul and they need to be able
to have a venue to get them out.”
Film Festival videographer Mark Dragovich said kids who come to
the festival have a unique experience.
“It’s a way for you to expand what could be your reality,”
he said. “You could be the ones up there on the big screen,
so youth really need to be involved in filmmaking. It’s an
art that’s desperately needing some youth injected into it.”
Harmon explains his love of the film festival.
“I love the idea because whenever people associate a big
city with film, they always stick with Hollywood and stuff,”
he said. “But the film festivals that are taking place all
over the nation…they’re giving out the idea that it
doesn’t matter where you are, film is film, and it can happen
anywhere.”
Andrew Ducharme, ten, of Elk Rapids, recommends the festival to
other kids.
“This would really help you out and you would see some older
and a lot of newer movies,” he said. “It gives you examples
and shows you how to do this kind of thing.”
While the Michigan film industry has certainly not reached the
status of Los Angeles or New York City, the Traverse City Film
Festival is doing its part to help cultivate and inspire young
filmmakers. Hopefully, the next Steven Spielberg will come from
the ranks of youth volunteers or participants at the festival.
—8-18 Media
Editor’s Note: This story was written by Chelsea Parrish,
17, Andrew Powell, 17, Hayley Maskus, 16, Lane Whitley, 15 and
Tia Platteborze, 13.
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