To kick off a new national effort to raise awareness for the issue of cyberbullying, AT&T and Fullscreen, are harnessing the talent of more than 250 high school student filmmakers.
The teen filmmakers participated in the AT&T Film Invitational, a part of this year’s All American High School Film Festival. The AT&T Film Invitational is the first ever to focus on cyberbullying.
The 10-week film competition provides high school students the chance to write, direct, shoot and edit an 8 minute film in New York City. Students spend 2 ½ months working on every aspect of their pre-production: script writing, storyboarding, securing actors, locations, etc. AT&T then selects teams to be flown to New York City to direct, shoot and edit their 8-minute films.
The winning films, announced at the Teen Indie Awards in New York City October 9, will be featured in a 20-minute AT&T cyberbullying film for free screening at schools nationwide in February 2017. The film is a concentrated effort by AT&T to educate teens and help end this crisis.
“An astounding 8-in-10 teenagers admit to being cyberbullied, or know someone who has been bullied through social media or text. We know this issue is very real for students, schools and families,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York State president, AT&T. “And AT&T wants to help.
The following teams’ schools or organizations were selected as the winners of the Cyberbullying Film Invitational:
- Steilacoom High School (Steilacoom, WA) received the award for Best In Contest and a cash prize of $5,000
- Mythic Bridge (Brooklyn, NY) received the award for Runner-Up and a cash prize of $3,500
- Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, CA) received the award for Second Runner-Up and a cash prize of $2,500
These teams’ schools or organizations were selected as additional finalists and will each receive a cash prize of $1,000 awarded by the All American High School Film Festival:
- Cedar Crest High School (Lebanon, PA)
- Rye Country Day School (Rye, NY)
- Digital Arts and Cinema Technology High School (Brooklyn, NY)
- Pine Crest School (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Science and Leadership Academy (Philadelphia, PA)
Three teams’ schools or organizations were also selected as Superlative Award winners, and won a cash prize of $2,500:
- Grace Church School (New York, NY) received the Made In New York Award, given to a New York City-based filmmaking team
- Communications High School (Wall, NJ) received the Maverick Award for a film with the most “outside the box” creative direction and execution
- Nature Coast Technical High School (Brooksville, FL) received the Heart Award for creating a film embodying the most heartfelt story
Judges also selected the team from Pine Crest School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) to receive a $25,000 deal to create a series on cyberbullying exclusively for Fullscreen, an ad-free subscription service that speaks directly to the social-first generation. All of the winning films will also be available on Fullscreen and AT&T Digital You.
Public voters will determine the winner of the Public Choice Award starting October 11. They will have until October 28 to vote. The winning team receives an additional $5,000 for its school or organization. Head here to vote for your favorite film.
Working with the Tyler Clementi Foundation, AT&T has made addressing the rise of cyberbullying a priority. This support of the All-American High School Film Festival follows a first-of-its-kind poll commissioned with the Tyler Clementi Foundation this past March on cyberbullying.
“This was an amazing weekend with lots of energy, interest and positive messaging around how we can all work together to amplify our voices to end all online and off line bullying. It was so difficult to choose our winners, as every film was terrific and produced with great skill, care and heart. Congratulations to everyone who participated!” said Jane Clementi, Founder and Board Member of the Tyler Clementi Foundation.
