8th ANNUAL AWARDS
2023
July 22,
JUSTIN R. BROWN
DIRECTOR, FYFF
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Host Committee and the Executive Planning Committee, it is with extreme pride and pleasure that we welcome you to the 8th Annual Flint Film Festival Awards which serves as the organization’s signature fundraiser for the year!
Thank you for joining us this evening as we celebrate exceptional young filmmakers and pay tribute to their extraordinary achievements.
The 8th Annual Flint Youth Film Festival shines a spotlight on filmmakers ages 25 and younger. The festival is designed to educate, celebrate and encourage youth filmmakers by screening officially selected work, encouraging their creative activities, providing informative workshops, and culminating with the Awards Ceremony.
The Flint Youth Film Festival is sponsored by iMichigan Productions, Flint Institute of Arts, Share Art Genesee, James A. Welch Foundation, A.G. Bishop Charitable Trust, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. This activity is supported in part by Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. There is no way to measure the gratitude we have for all our distinguished corporate sponsors.
Thank you and enjoy!
Justin R. Brown
Justin R. Brown Award Winning Writer, Director, Director, FYFF
Good Evening,
ALEXANDRIA DOUGLAS
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FYFF
We’re so grateful for everyone who helped make this evening a success. We are thrilled to be here celebrating phenomenal filmmakers. None of this would have been possible without the help of our sponsors whose generous support allows us to continue our impactful work with aspiring youth in the year ahead.
The heart of what we do is our filmmakers. These young people embrace challenges, see mistakes as opportunities to learn, and persist in the face of setbacks.
We must express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for joining us virtually tonight and consistently supporting the mission. Your help contributes to the continuation of this important work.
Regards
Alexandria Douglas
Alexandria Douglas Assistant Director, FYFF
PROGRAM Introductions Justin Brown, Director of FYFF Evening Host Madison LaBonte Award Presentations Craft Awards 13-15 Achievement 16-18 Non-Fiction 16-18 Fiction 19-21 Non-Fiction 19-21 Fiction 22-25 Non-Fiction 22-25 Fiction Animation Experimental Audience Choice Preview Closing
GALA HOST
MADISON LABONTE Entrant Coordinator
Madison LaBonte is an aspiring film director, writer, and producer. She has worked on many small projects and personal productions, inspiring her to make this her career.
Madison’s passion comes from a long line of theater fanatics, and she has been involved with theater for as long as she can remember. She is studying media arts and entertainment at Mott Community College and will be graduating with her associate’s degree within the next year. She plans on going further with her education and is excited to make her mark in the industry.
13-15 All
Austin Kim
#lifeon2wheels
Grace Greenfield
Behind the Camera
Susannah Norris
Color Blind
Ashoka Shin
Monster
Gia Guerrero
Parting Ways
Blake Jarvis
Repurposed
Isla McKenna
The Best Day
Brendan Buist-Sohn
The Trash Pandemic
Noah Shin
Yesterday, Again
OFFICIAL
SELECTION
16-18 Fiction
Animation Experimental
Zohar Heiman
Day Crim
Victoire Polsky
Don't Clock Out
Sophia Winters
Game Plans
Evan Nowack & Rose Akbari
Killer Chiropractor
Braulio Macias
Lead Head
Jonah Pagenhart
The Plan
Justin Marinelli
Tooth Fairy
Ella Arlene
Undaunted
16-18 Non-Fiction
Animation Experimental
Ian Morgan
A Frontier in Litigation: Charles
Houston, Nathan Margold, and Thurgood Marshall
Sasha Lahtinen, Anna Plante, Michael Chertok & Andy Park
A Painted Destination
Aaron Anidjar
Alexi Sinyavin-Speedcuber
Philip Tang
Ball For All
Alexandra Duran
Different, Not Less
Brianna Johnson
Loved to Death
Jacob Tetlow
One Block Away
Matthew Wilbur
Stories Through Bones
Nico Lyle Rivera
The Small Things
OFFICIAL SELECTION
19-21 Fiction
Joseph & Caleb Stevens Boxes
Ashley Orellana Chained
Victoria Nenet Irish & Emil Galloup
Girls Night
Sean Park
The Goon
Meghan E. Atherton
The Reception
Carlos Lerma
The Wright Choice
Austin Snetsky
What Lies Ahead of Flynn
Springfield
Ethan William Gough
Which One
19-21 Non-Fiction
Jake Tollman Call Me Pretty
Lisa Dodell
I Believe I Can Fly
Emma Myers & Ellie Pickel
Poverty, Politics, and Procreation
Maggie Branch
The Films of Dorothy Arzner
Aaron Young
WEAVINGS
Estefany Lara
Wild Birds
Katlyn Erath
Wisconsin State Parks: The Volunteers
OFFICIAL SELECTION
22-25 Fiction
Carl Z. Seibel
Bug's Bunny
Kane Sweet & Sol Vanhassel
Come Around Sundown
Manya Glassman
Deep Tissue
Jack Horrigan LINT
James Carter
Tell Me You'll Miss Me
Jonathan Daniel Gill
The Mast of Amontillado
Jon Frenkel Garcia
The Reflection Of Francisca
Newman
Chin-En Gau
The Team
Michelle Blumenau
The Way Back
22-25 Non-Fiction
Jennifer Spinelli
48 HOURS
Paul Dower
Grass Roots
Thomas Henry Fritzmann
Missing the Quiet
Julia Marie Picozzi
Resilient Ink
Sriram Papolu
The Final Hours of South U Pizza
Vidisha Agarwalla
The Unlearning Handbook
Hannah Moore & Diana Durazo
They Call Me Manu
OFFICIAL SELECTION
The Flint Youth Film Festival introduces the art of filmmaking to young filmmakers between the ages of 13 and 25. It provides these young filmmakers with venues for developing their storytelling talents. The program provides opportunities to share creative work with peers, the public, and professional filmmakers.
By introducing our youth to the film industry, the program provides them with new media to express their creativity, improve their communication skills, and benefit their community.
The festival received a record number of entries this year. Festival officials have notified these filmmakers of the official selections that will be part of the festival and the films were judged by professionals from around the country.
The festival entrants are divided into four age groups, (13-15, 16-18, 19-21, 2225) split into fiction, non-fiction, experimental and animation. The younger group is strictly judged by achievement to acknowledge the hard work it takes to make a film and to put no pressure of competition on kids that young that are just getting started in this creative pursuit.
Craft awards also are presented for writing, directing, and cinematography for the three older groups. And there are other awards given which are determined by judges, for example Industry Award, The Heart Award, which is for a film that shows passion from the entrant(s) which outshine all others. And, of course, there is the Audience Choice Award.
The 13-15 group’s films were limited to five minutes. The 16-18 age group limit was ten minutes, the 19-21 group was limited to 15 minutes, and the 22-25 group’s limit was twenty minutes.
ABOUT
ABOUT US
Founded by Award-winning television producer, Rodney W. Brown, iMP is a non-profit corporation that combines media production with education. iMP’s Flagship program, the Flint Youth Film Festival introduces the art of filmmaking to young filmmakers between the ages of 13 and 25 and provides these young filmmakers with venues for developing their storytelling talent.
Additional signature programs include the Flint Youth Media Project that recognizes the contributions of United States Veterans in arts, culture and community, the Film Appreciation Academy, a program to examine the styles of film the techniques used in making a film and the potential array of jobs that are available in the film industry and Flint’s Got Talent, a program that shines a spotlight on young talent ages 13-25, in Flint, Michigan. FGT provides youth with a healthy, positive, and public experience that reinforces their selfworth and strengthens their skills in front of and behind the camera.
MISSION
Our mission is to inspire emerging filmmakers ages 25 and under to harness the power of storytelling to encourage positive change in the world.
VISION
Our vision is to provide emerging filmmakers a platform to showcase their perspectives through film.
