The Cayuga Film Festival returns to Auburn on Friday for its third year.
New for 2023 is the introduction of the Cayuga Film Festival Junior which features works from elementary and junior high school students that were made as part of the afterschool film program put on by Auburn Public Theater (APT) and the Booker T Washington Community Center (BTW).
Teddy Brill is an instructor with APT. He told Finger Lakes News Radio the films are truly student-made.
“We’re there for the entire fall semester and spring semester with the kids for the afterschool program,” Brill said. “We get to work with them for about an hour and then, by the end of the semester, or end of the year in this case, we came up with eight different films that the students wrote and produced themselves.”
Juliette Zygarowicz with the festival added that it’s a unique opportunity for the students.
“One of the main reasons that we decided to do the junior film festival is that I think it’s so important for students of any age to see their work on a big screen, but seeing it when you’re in elementary school, middle school, and even just starting high school. To see your work featured in a film festival that’s created just for you is something that is so unique and so special,” said Zygarowicz.
Currently, the junior film festival is only available to students either participating in the BTW program or APT’s summer filmmaking classes. Zygarowicz added that the festival is exploring the idea of expanding it to be age-based rather than program-dependent.
The two-day event begins Friday at 7:00p with a screening of the film Move When the Spirit Says Move. The movie is the winner of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Award presented by the festival.
On Saturday, the junior film festival begins at 10:00a. It will be followed by the Cayuga Film Festival at 1:00p with movie screenings and a Filmmaker Q&A.
The Cayuga Film Festival will be held at APT and is free and open to the public.
The festival is a collaboration between Cayuga Community College and Auburn Public Theater. More information can be found on the group’s website.
