Cinefest showcases work of valley’s budding film auters

Roll out the red carpet.
Saturday night is opening night for the actors, directors and producers from Scotts Valley High and San Lorenzo Valley High to show their work as part of Scotts Valley High’s annual film festival, Cinefest.
Popcorn and refreshments will be served as the community gathers at the high school to watch three hours of independent films written and produced entirely by students and local filmmakers.
“It gives students a chance to show what they’ve created,” said Jonathan Schlaepfer, a 2008 Scotts Valley High grad who returned as a student teacher to help with the technical parts of the school’s video production class.
“These are big projects. I’m really impressed with the amount of work the students have put into it,” he said.
A year’s worth of work will be on display in the three-hour show that will feature films, some short, some longer, ranging from comedies, to music videos to horror flicks.
Senior Tanner Jacobson hopes his group’s music video, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” is in the cue.
“It tells a story about a young couple — a break-up,” Jacobson said.
The group of five went through the entire film process, from brainstorming the storyline to making a list of shots, before filming and producing the four-minute, 44-second spot. The group put the movie on YouTube.com and has received more than 2,200 views.
Arden Kilzer’s group produced the 10-minute film “Inauspicious,” which follows a day in the life of the unluckiest kid in the world.
“It’s definitely a comedy,” Kilzer said.
Kilzer is in the process of working on the final project for the class — an 80-page movie script.
“This class has really solidified my desire to be an actress and in film,” Kilzer said.
This is the second year for Cinefest and the seventh year of the video production class taught by Karin Babbitt.
“I ask an awful lot of them,” Babbitt said. “I treat them in the way I was treated when I started doing this.
“I want to emphasize (to the students) that this is real,” Babbitt said. “These kids will never have to work at McDonald’s. They walk out of here with a viable skill.”
At a glance
WHAT: Cinefest
WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. May 30
WHERE: SV High Student Union Building
TICKETS: $7
ONLINE: “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” music video http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=4Bcxd2NaIZg