Students filmmakers are invited to take advantage of an exciting new opportunity by submitting a “New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short” film to the 2020 Garden State Film Festival.

Films must be five minutes or less and focus on some aspect of the students’ hometown, including profiles of interesting people, places, time periods or subjects related to the arts. This new film submission category has been created to encourage young filmmakers’ creativity while instilling a sense of pride in where they are from.

Students are encouraged to submit entries either on their own or through their schools by Jan. 9, 2020 for the 2020 Garden State Film Festival. The contest is being sponsored by the New Jersey School Boards Association in partnership with the Steven Van Zandt’s Teach Rock initiative and Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, the Garden State Film Festival, the Artists Alike Film Festival and the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.

The “New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short” category is reserved for films that are written, directed and shot by New Jersey high school and younger grade school students.

The top submissions will be eligible to be shown at the Artist Alike Film Festival in February 2020 in Washington Township, Gloucester County, The Garden State Film Festival scheduled for March 25-29, 2020 in Asbury Park, and Workshop 2020, October 20 – 21, 2020 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Links to student films shown at Workshop 2019 in Atlantic City are provided below:

MY LIFE – KAYLA FUCETOLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y54dY2GYy4

WANTED – ISAIAH GOMEZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9863aG3JBg&list=PLjZuppZbf06WT-nBAF1ADHizJm-QnyIQY&index=2&t=0s

COLORS OF THE SPIRIT
https://www.maxgoldstein.us/films

THE SILENCE OF SOUND
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXz8c0oSpvc&feature=youtu.be

TINKER – MARIA DRAGONE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCv8Duksgrc

BROKEN – KERRY HARPER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpfrhXPmzOA

DECEPTION – AMANDA CLARK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVDCHefp9YQ

THE MONSTER WITHIN – HANNAH SCHWARTZBERG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYO37C9wfU0

INSIDE MY HEAD – KIARA DISLA
https://youtu.be/h5spHL6MRb8

COMEDY SKETCH – VAUGHN BATTISTA
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1afzG-wugQdNgwLr07U7pKjv49f2UHUrI/view?usp=sharing