NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Youth Cinema Festival is returning once again in its second year after relaunching in 2024 for the first time since 2017 with another date set to showcase some of the young talented filmmakers doing work in the region.
Relaunched by two Northampton High School filmmakers collaborating with the Northampton Arts Council and Northampton Open Media, the festival ran for 17 years prior to being shelved due to a combination of loss in community interest and the coronavirus pandemic. The youth film festival used to cap off Northampton Kid’s Best Fest, the week of scheduled activities for youth in the city to attend or participate in during school break.
This year’s festival will be on April 27 at the center for the arts building, 33 Hawley St. Student organizer Elly Hiranandani is a senior at Northampton High School and has always had an interest in visual arts, photography and filmmaking. As a young filmmaker himself, he told Reminder Publishing that he was enthused to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Northampton Arts Council to bring back such an exciting opportunity for young filmmakers.
After an opportunity of serving on Northampton Open Media’s Board of Directors through a student position, Hiranandani noted there were no film festivals in the area that welcomed young filmmakers before learning about this festival’s history.
“It sort of petered out and mostly due to a lack of interest I think, a lack of movement in the community,” Hiranandani said. “I think COVID had a role [in the event not returning sooner].”
Hiranandani added that he was motivated to work with community members in reissuing the festival and returning the opportunity for young filmmakers to be a part of a real festival and get their work out into the world.
“For a lot of youth, I think it can be really daunting [entering a typical movie festival] because there’s totally a barrier for entry for a lot of these festivals. It goes beyond just the quality of your film. You need a certain production quality, a certain budget, a lot of festivals you have to pay to enter. So, I just saw it as a natural gap that I thought could be filled,” Hiranandani said.
He continued, “You’d have to go all the way out to Boston to find something that’s really centered on youth. Personally, I’m really passionate about the youth filmmaking community and I think part of my love for filmmaking is so much working with other filmmakers. That’s why I love it, it’s just working with these like-minded creatives and it can be really challenging to find like-minded creatives my age. A lot of the people who I do work [with] are much older than me and that can be challenging sometimes so I thought it would be really important to create a space where youth can come together and network with each other, build those relationships and build that community. And also, be just more included in that community.”
The final deadline to submit an entry is April 21, but Hiranandani said those who just miss the deadline and are still looking to submit an entry can reach out through the festival to submit.
In order to submit an entry, films must be made by a person aged 21 or younger, the entire crew does not have to be under 21, only the principal creator/submitted (i.e. director, cinematographer, editor, etc.). The submitter can be over 21 if the film was created when they were under 21.
All films must also be under 30 minutes, including credits, to be considered. Festival organizers note that films above 20 minutes are less likely to be accepted due to time constraints. Films created for an educational assignment are eligible for submission.
Films that have been released on any distribution services are ineligible for submission. Films must be submitted in English or have English subtitles. For more information on this year’s festival or to submit an entry, visit filmfreeway.com/NYCF.
Hiranandani added many young filmmakers can be discouraged away from creating in the medium due to lack of community support or resources and that Northampton is the perfect home to recreate this network of young aspiring filmmakers.
If a young filmmaker submits an entry to a typical festival, their work can often be rejected and discourage them. Hiranandani hopes that with the Northampton Youth Cinema Festival’s steady return, they can continue to build up this community of young filmmakers.
“That can suck, and that can be the turning point when they decide, ‘maybe this industry isn’t for me.’ And I really detest that and I want to create a space that’s accepting to everything regardless of quality and it’s the kind of festival where you can say, ‘yeah, you’re learning. This is your first or second film. That’s OK, we want to help you learn and want to learn with you,’” Hiranandani said.
Heading into the second straight year of the festivals return, Hiranandani said they have already received many submissions, and they are expecting a better overall festival in terms of interest, turnout and films showcased.
“More than anything, my favorite part of the festival is getting to meet the filmmakers who made these films. After watching them over and over and over, it’s really wonderful to meet the people,” Hiranandani said. “I think that’s what it all comes down to, meeting people and building that community.”
