Fourth Annual John Jay Student Film Festival

John Jay High School’s Arts booster club, Arts Alive! will present the 4th Annual John Jay High School Film Festival on Friday, May 16th at 7:00 pm. This year, the Film Festival will begin with a presentation by Blue Sky Studios' Producer, John Donkin, who is most recently noted for producing both Rio and  Rio 2.
The program of short films will feature work from current JJHS students and alumni. 

The JJHS Film Festival began in May 2011 when a group of students suggested the idea to ArtsAlive!, the booster club for the arts and humanities at John Jay  High School.  ArtsAlive! formed a student film festival committee, under the supervision of JJHS film and photography teacher, Diane Nerwen, and developed the event from the ground up. The main goal of the festival is to provide a way for independent filmmakers at the school to present and share their work with their friends, families and peers in a supportive , noncompetitive, and dynamic setting. The first year, the festival was held at The Katonah Museum of Art.

Because a larger venue was needed, Caramoor Center for the Arts graciously agreed to partner with ArtsAlive!, and provided a wonderful setting for the next two years. This year, the students decided to keep the event closer to home, and are presenting the films at the high school auditorium. 

A total of fourteen films, mainly from current students at John Jay, will then be screened.  A couple of the films were submitted by alumni who had participated in  previous JJHS Film Festivals, and are now studying film at college.  
Kelly Miller, Vice President of ArtsAlive! and Film Festival Committee Chairperson stated, "We are very excited to welcome John Donkin, our key-note speaker, to open this year's Festival. Since joining Blue Sky Studios in 1998, Donkin has had a producer title on six feature films, including “Rio,”  three of the four "Ice Age" films, “Robots,”  and most recently "Rio2" which is currently in theatres around the globe. His films have garnered four Academy Award nominations for Animation, shorts and music and numerous other industry awards and nominations. John will discuss aspects of FILM as a collaborative art. Using examples from Blue Sky films as a backdrop, John will discuss many aspects of filmmaking and animation”. 

Ms. Miller added, "The response from students and parents has been very positive since the Film Festival's inception. We are hoping that including films from recent alumni will help to foster a continuing creative community with strong roots here at JJHS." 

The Festival will be held at John Jay High School, 60 North Salem Road, Cross River, NY. Tickets will be available at the door, $5 for students, $10 for adults. For more information visit klartsalive.org.