9th Annual Millburn Film Fest Honors Local Youth

Press release from the 2020 Millburn Film Fest:

June 14 2020

Young township filmmakers were recognized at the first ever virtual event for the 9th Annual Millburn Film Fest, presented by the Millburn Education Foundation. Jacob Updyke, a Millburn High School junior, won first place for his animated film AYE O, while Nemma Kalra, an MHS sophomore, won second place for her narrative Life After Death. They received gift certificates to the New York Film Academy. Rachel Solomon, an MHS junior, earned third place for her film Lucidity.

Event co-chair Lea Cruz said, “The filmmakers worked so hard to complete their films, and we didn’t want to sideline their efforts. The problem was, how do you hold a film festival when public gatherings aren’t allowed?” The answer was to create a virtual film fest and stream it via YouTube, with Cruz and her co-chair Lauri Palomaki acting as hosts for the broadcast. “After the shutdown in March, we had secured the later date of May 29th hoping it could still be a live event,” said Palomaki. “We soon realized that was impossible, and we are so grateful to our sponsors for staying committed to the event.”

The seven films shown encompassed a range of topics and included a mockumentary, a Hollywood comedy, a documentary about a Millburn Special Olympics program, moody narratives about troubled relationships, and animations that promoted environmental awareness. The top scoring film, AYE O, tells the story of a farmer boy in a desolate wasteland who dreams of one day seeing a real live bird. For filmmaker Jacob Updyke, concern about the environment is a driving force behind his creative work, with AYE O being his third environmentally focused work in animation. He had supportive words for his fellow filmmakers, saying, “Every film I saw was wonderful and everyone should be incredibly proud.”

The program also included the presentation of the annual Krueger-Rhodes Award, which recognizes a member of the Millburn community who has worked to advance the arts. The 2020 recipient of the award is MHS English teacher Jessica Siegel, whose contributions to the school’s cheerleading and theater programs have made a lasting impact on countless students.

The Film Fest broadcast on YouTube was a huge success, attracting almost 700 households to tune in. Laraine Brennan Barach, Chairwoman of the Millburn-Short Hills Art Advisory Committee and a judge for this year’s competition, summed of the feeling of many when she commented, “It’s exciting that young filmmakers are getting an opportunity to have their work recognized once again.”

Residents who missed the broadcast can view it on Millburn Film Fest’s YouTube channel, via link at MillburnFilmFest.com. Honorable Mentions and selected Smartphone Shorts (a new category of short-short films) are also available for viewing via the Film Fest website.

This press release was produced by the 2020 Millburn Film Fest. The views expressed here are the author's own.