Tune into the Judges' Choice Awards 2021

Click here or on the image to join us!

The 22nd Bridge Film Festival by the Numbers

In this year of uncertainty, our Festival has come through with 26 entries from 10 schools and 3 continents! All of the entries have been posted here on this site. There are 7 documentaries, 9 narratives, 4 new media, and 6 public service announcements.

Our Judges are evaluating the entries based on five criteria, communication skill, creativity, technical quality, Quaker relevancy, and originality. Their results and advices will be published in April and there will be once again a virtual Judges' Choice Awards show that will be made available to the public.

Official 2021 Trailer

Congratulations to all the filmmakers, advisors, and schools who participated.

Participating schools: 

Brooklyn Friends School

Delaware Valley Friends School

George School

New Garden Friends School

Olney Friends School

Princeton Friends School

Sidcot School

Tandem Friends School

The Friends' School

William Penn Charter School

First Submissions Have Arrived!

We are happy to welcome the first entries into the Bridge Film Festival 2021. Once submissions are received, they are reviewed and, if they meet the criteria of the Festival, they are immediately posted on our website for everyone to share and enjoy. We are happy to include any additional information in the description of your youtube video.  These descriptions help interested viewers to find the film.  

The description from The Friends School of Tasmania not only speaks of the film but also describes their very innovative program for engaging students in film, allowing them to express their many ideas. Fair dinkum, Friends!

Let Your Film Speak!

 

A CALL FOR ENTRIES!

Student Voices Matter Here!

Well, 2020 has brought a global pandemic, massive wildfires, catastrophic flooding, political power grabs, explosions, uprisings, and massive street protests. In the USA we’ve even had murder hornets! We can try to make jokes about it but COVID-19 has brought great loss to us all. 

What else is happening in our mask-wearing quarantined worlds? The UK’s got Brexit, a possible second Scottish independence referendum, and perhaps a unification of the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland. The US is facing a chaotic election with active voter suppression and disenfranchisement efforts, and adults behaving very badly. We’ve got wars, civil conflicts, and environmental disasters. And that’s just a very small part of the world. 

Without a doubt, our lives – and our worlds – have changed for all, whether you’re an infant, teen, parent, or educator. What’s happening in your world? The Bridge Film Festival wants to know...and see. 

The Bridge Film Festival (BFF), founded in 2000, provides a voice for students attending Quaker schools and Quaker Meetings worldwide. BFF invites creative and socially conscious students to produce films that focus on messages through a Quaker lens. Listen to what acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns says about us. Read about last year’s winners. 

There are four categories for telling stories: Narrative, Documentary, New Media, and Public Service Announcement (PSAs). The Narrative, Documentary, and New Media entries must be ten minutes or less in length and PSAs run 30 or 60 seconds. The deadline to submit is March 12, 2021. The judging and screenings will air online globally in the Spring of 2021. 

Here’s how it works: There are no costs to participate. Advisors can work with individual students, clubs, and classes to create ideas, scripts, and films. Read the criteria and complete your entry form here. 

What stories, current events, life experiences will inspire your students to make and submit a film to the 2021 Bridge Film Festival? We invite you to listen to your students and to galvanize them to share their voices! Quaker schools and Quaker Meetings are found throughout the world. Will you join us in sharing your students’ voices during this extraordinary year in these remarkable times?