Students from Lyons Township High School received the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award for their silent film submission titled “Pink Lady” at the Halloween Student Silent Film Festival Oct. 8, at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, according to a news release.
The Halloween Student Silent Film Festival was a film competition in which students from 10 high schools created original motion pictures, the release said. Unlike other film competitions, however, the movies submitted told their stories in visual terms without the aid of voices or sound effects. Each school was given four weeks to create its silent film entry.
The LT students who created “Pink Lady” were Maddox McDonald, writer, director, and editor and Elliot Marcoux, assistant director and producer. The cast featured Grace Simmon, Milo Guevara, Pamela Podolner, and Blake Benjaminson, the release said.
“This year’s event had a deliberately broad theme that revolved around Halloween,” Ed Newmann of Hinsdale, one of three founders of the event, said in the release. “We aimed for a truly unsettling atmosphere with elements of horror, suspense, and outright creepiness. Students unleased their imagination and created something that’s truly spine-chilling.”
According to the release, the submitted movies were shown with live organ accompaniment by festival founder Derek Berg who is a professional pianist and CEO of the Clarendon Hills Music Academy.
“I made a convergence of the silent movie era musical spontaneity with improvisation,” Berg said in the release. “My preparations were minimalistic. I let the film, the audience’s energy, and the eerie Halloween ambience guide my music.”
A panel of judges — all professionals in the entertainment or art education industries — selected Lyons Township during the festival as a winner based on the quality of the story narrative, development, camera work, lighting, and editing, the release said.
LTHS received an HD digital file of its movie with the accompaniment soundtrack.
“In addition to being an incomparable experience for all the participating students,” Newmann said in the release. “The winning filmmakers will have powerful pieces of work for their portfolios.”
Participating high schools and media instructors:
Lyons Township High School, Bill Allan
Neuqua Valley High School, John Gelsomino
New Trier High School, Jim Syrek
Bremen High School, Michael Lynch
Riverside/Brookfield High School, Gary Prokes
Oak Forest High School, Michael Boniface
Hillcrest High School, Michael Lynch
Tinley Park High School, Michael Lynch
Barrington High School, Jeff Doles
Maine South High School, Mason Strom
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