“That Extra Step” Makes Film Fest 6 Winners Shine

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Photo courtesy of Ed Hing

If there’s one thing that Ed Hing has noticed over the six years Williston Northampton School has been holding the Film Fest, it’s that entries are getting stronger—and student filmmakers are getting younger.

This year, the annual film festival accepted entries from more schools than ever before, including newcomers Weston High School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, and Connecticut IB Academy.

Mr. Hing, a fine and performing arts teacher and festival organizer, included a new music video category, which he said was popular among student filmmakers. For the first time, he also opened the festival to submissions from Middle School students.

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Parker ’13 Signs with Oregon Ducks

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A lacrosse player who started her career on a boys team—and became one of the finest goalkeepers her coach has ever seen—signed with the University of Oregon on May 17 during a special ceremony at the Williston Northampton School.

Dressed in a bright yellow Oregon sweatshirt, and surrounded by teammates, a beaming Janelle Parker ’13 signed a National Letter of Intent to play at the Division I school. By accepting the scholarship, Ms. Parker let other schools know that she may no longer be recruited.

“This is what I’ve always wanted,” Ms. Parker said. “Everything happens for a reason—and Oregon is that reason.”

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Cortina ’09 wins Student Academy Award

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Production still courtesy of "Bottled Up"

When he first read the email last week, Rafael “Raffy” Cortina ’09 thought it was a prank. He had submitted his senior project, a short film entitled “Bottled Up,” to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but wasn’t expecting to hear back so quickly.

“The announcement came a week early and caught me off guard,” Mr. Cortina said.

What the email announced was that Mr. Cortina’s senior project for Occidental College, a short film called “Bottled Up,” had won a 2013 Student Academy Award—the first such prize for either an Occidental student or Williston Northampton alumnus.

Mr. Cortina was among 16 student winners in five different categories. The filmmakers will find out how they placed during a ceremony at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on June 8, when they will be awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals.

Created for his senior comprehensive project, Mr. Cortina’s film had a $3,000 budget, a 14-minute running time, and 15 shots that involved green screens. Despite his financial limitations and a tight, two-day shooting schedule, Mr. Cortina said the whole production went “relatively smoothly.”

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John Hazen White Jr. ’76 Receives Ward Medal

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“Robert Ward drew forth the best of our ability to think from the deepest parts of soul,” said John Hazen White, Jr. ’76 at a special assembly on May 10 during which he received the Ward Medal, one of the school’s most prestigious alumni awards.

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Final Photographers’ Lecture Series Asks ‘Where is the Truth?’

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Photographers Braden Chattman and Michael Zide are so in sync with one another that, during a recent talk at the Williston Northampton School, they finished each other’s sentences.

“The big word at Hallmark is ‘intention,’” said Mr. Zide. “As someone who absorbs photography,” Mr. Chattman chimed in, “that’s what ultimately matters.”

The Hallmark Institute of Photography teachers were at Williston on April 23 to give the final evening talk of this year’s Photographers’ Lecture Series. That afternoon, Mr. Chattman and Mr. Zide had also spent a class period speaking to Williston’s photography students about what a professional career in photography involves.

“Photography is a lot more than a career decision,” said Mr. Chattman. “It’s a lifestyle.”  He described his dream retirement: traveling the country with his wife, who is also a photographer, in a motorcycle with a tripod mounted on its sidecar. That way there would be no glare from car windows. Continue reading →