The Second Annual Conchita Film Festival was on Wednesday, March 20th at 6:00 p.m. The students in the CEA Cinema Mastery, led by Ms. Zapata and Mr. Mosca, worked extremely hard to write, edit, cast, direct, film, and edit a number of short films for our community to enjoy. Beyond learning the foundations of what it takes to create a movie from start to finish, they also collaborated with students in multiple other masteries and in the Conservatory to recruit actors and musicians for their films.
Students presented over 15 short films created entirely by our Cinema Mastery students. From ideating and conceptualizing their short films, to creating a synopsis, writing a script, casting, directing, filming, and editing, students oversaw their films from start to finish, under Ms. Zapata’s and Mr. Mosca’s guidance. Filmmaking is a long and tedious process, and we couldn’t be prouder of the work our students produced.
A special thank you to those who supported this film festival by going above and beyond to ensure these students had the space to be creative and the tools needed to create their films.
As part of their learning process, students created silent films, which were accompanied by live musicians from the CEA Music Mastery and Conchita Espinosa Conservatory of the Arts. We are grateful to Ms. Yirka Ledon, Music Department Head, and to our music faculty who participated: Norman Milanes, Ileana Cortizo, Tania Nuñez, Antonio Perigo, and Jose Pradas. Thank you for your openness, support, and endless creativity in the making of the silent films.
Special thanks to our Mastery teachers for “lending” their actors and for their patience with the process and to Ms. Vazquez and the Senior Art Mastery, who designed and created the beautiful and intricate Steampunk themed costumes and set for “Parallels.”
Successful filmmaking is a collaborative process, and last night was testament to the beautiful community built around this program, thanks to the hard work, passion, enthusiasm, and dedication of Ms. Zapata and Ms. Mosca.
