Davis students’ short films featured in Cleveland International Film Festival

What began as a class assignment for Davis Aerospace and Maritime ninth graders has turned into three short films that are part of the 46th Cleveland International Film Festival.

The films are part of CIFF’s FilmSlam Streams, an educational program for students, and can be viewed online.

To teach literary elements of a story, English teacher Darlene Jeter came up with the class project of either writing a short story or producing a film.

“The students learned about symbolism, theme, mood and tone,” she said.

To give students examples, Jeter used videos already in the FilmSlam Streams.

intervention specialist Aerial Morrison said the assignment gave students a project they would enjoy and remember.

“We notice that many of our students are so talented in the arts,” said Morrison. “Their passion may be maritime and aerospace, but we wanted to give them an opportunity to exercise their art and display it in a nontraditional fashion.”

Jeter said more students wrote short stories. All projects were showcased at the first Freshmen Short Film and Short Story Festival. She invited parents and members of the film festival.

“We wanted them to see how beneficial their content is for our students,” said Jeter.

Members of the film festival selected three Davis Aerospace & Maritime films to become a part of the FilmSlam. The films are:

· “Mean Auntie,” by Kasmere Sanders.

· “The Consequences of Bullying,” by Brooklin Willis, Zariah Thornton, Jiradynet Estrema.

· “The Corruption,” by Emitt Dobranic, Montie Henderson, Antoine Blair.

Montie and Antione, the student filmmakers behind “The Corruption,” were excited to have the murder mystery featured in the festival.

“Everyone was proud of what we did, and it was really exciting,” said Antione.

“It’s an honor,” said Montie. “It was my first time making a film, and for it to be recognized, it’s just it’s incredible.”

The films will now become a part of the FilmSlam library for other students around the country to watch and learn literary techniques.

“Their films will be used for years to come to help other students learn about different elements of filming or writing,” said Jeter.

Jeter plans to make the Freshman Short Story and Film Festival a yearly event.