The LISD Student Film Fest submission deadline is April 2 and will be followed by an award ceremony on May 16.

“When the idea [for the film fest] first came up, it was to give students an authentic opportunity for them to produce work, whether it had to do with school work or it had to do with interest outside of school,” Film Fest committee member Jayne Germany said. “We thought that film was a really good way for students to express themselves and have a voice.”

There are different divisions students can enter their film in including Public Service Announcement, Document/Cultural, Instructional, Story and Animation/Stop Motion for high schools.

“We always get lots of submissions the very last week,” Germany said. “We have a couple hundred submissions at this point; it usually is up to 400 or 500, so it’s going to be a busy few days because the deadline is Tuesday.”

The high school films will be judged by professionals in the film industry instead of district educators. Germany said it is not just the technical aspects that matter, but also the idea and uniqueness of the film.

“Yes, the editing is important, but it should really be their unique perspective,” Germany said. “If they use too much from video clips online, it becomes less and less unique, so it’s just finding your unique voice and that’s going to impress the judges. And follow the rubric as closely as you can before you begin. There’s things that kids maybe haven’t thought of that they need to take into consideration.”