AFIFEST 2007 November 1-11



Nov 4, 2007     DAY 4


Samsung Fresh Films Youth Fest 2007 brought demos, panels and the cast of Napoleon Dynamite to AFI FEST on Saturday.

The event intended to inspire future filmmakers with a movie-making discussion with Chris Gore, founder of FilmThreat.com and Jeremy Coon, Producer of Napolean Dynamite. An interactive comedy session with the cast of Napolean Dynamite, included Pedro Sanchez star Efren Ramirez and Jon Gries who played Uncle Rico in the film. Leslie Ann Jones, the Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound and Clare Kilmer, director of The Wedding Date spoke to the eager audience and inspired Chapman University film student, Ariel Gonzalez, 17, came to hear the women filmmakers speak.

"I thought it would be really fascinating to learn from these female filmmakers - about their struggles and their daily lives," Gonzalez said.

She said she is inspired by these women, learning that "everyday they feel like they should just change careers. They just stick by it though, and realize this is what they love to do. There are a lot of failures, but you learn from them."

The Samsung Fresh Films Youth Fest also included demos from the Cinema Makeup School about set makeup and an awards and scholarship presentation by Samsung Fresh Films. They even gave away a five hundred dollar audience member award to launch a film career.

It's a great thing there are institutions and corporations garnering attention for young filmmakers. In a business that takes a lot of determination and persistence, the younger you start, the better off you'll be.