No. 14 Vol. 11
New View Media Group • 1-800-691-7549
June 12, 2018
Local Senior Uses Editing Skills On Documentary Project
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By Stefanie Sears ilmAcademy360 Director David Di Ianni, along with Stephen Bilal Waters, Vincent Lissandrello, and Ethan Solender, traveled to Be’er Sheva, Israel back in March to film FilmAcademy360’s latest documentary project. “Deema and Amir” details the story of Jewish and Arab children going to school together, thus breaking down barriers. Di Ianni founded FilmAcademy360 eight years ago as a part of Spectrum360, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides programs that serve those on the autism spectrum and with related developmental and behavioral disabilities. It is a weekly program that takes place four hours each Saturday since October. “We want to give young people on the autism spectrum the opportunity to en-
gage in a high value activity for the purpose of learning pre-vocational skills that can either be transferable or direct to this specific industry,” he explains, “to give them an opportunity to have self-expression and to be seen.” He and his crew put together five hours worth of material, leaving the task for it to be edited down to 20 minutes. This was Melissa Goldfine’s job. Goldfine is a 17-year-old senior at Wayne Hills High School and a member of the editing team for the film. Her interest in film editing was inspired by her participation in the New Horizons Day Camp two years ago. “Working together helps me learn to communicate better,” says Goldfine. “Being creative is what is important about editing,” she adds about the benefits of FilmAcademy360.
Goldfine is up for working on any film genre, as long as it is progressive in some way. “What I like most is being able to use a professional editing program,” she says, “I like to be cooperative, confident, and social. Those are my skills. And I like to tell stories.” Giving the youth a chance to tell their stories is what FilmAcademy360 is all about, says Di Ianni. “We believe that by young students like Melissa producing videos, they are creating awareness in a much deeper way,” he says. “It’s giving the public the opportunity to see people with autism perform at very high levels and get to know them a bit more. I believe it is a great way for them to put their best foot forward in a public way. Media is a huge opportunity for all young continued on page 2