9th Annual Bridge Film Festival Wrap-up, 2008

Quiet on the Set, then Action, As 9th Annual Bridge Film Festival Directs Students to “Let Your Films Speak”

Each year since its founding in the spring of 2000, the Bridge Film Festival at Brooklyn Friends School “improves in both the quality of films submitted, and the number of Friends Schools from around the world that participate,” according to David Slezak, faculty member of Tandem Friends School in Charlottesville, Virginia, in a report to his school committee. “Of note this year is that there were films submitted from Pickering College in Ontario, Canada, Ramallah Friends in Palestine, Brummana High School in Lebanon, and Ackworth School in West Yorkshire, UK. A delegation of students from Ackworth School made a week-long visit to New York in order to participate in the festival.”

In addition to international Friends schools, a number of Quaker schools from the United States were finalists: Delaware Valley Friends School (PA), Brooklyn Friends School (NY), Friends’ Central School (PA), Oakwood Friends School (NY, George School (PA), Cambridge Friends School (MA), and Tandem Friends School (VA).

Don Duga’s cel animation workshop

The festival day began with workshops that included cel animation

digital media challenge workshop

with Don Duga, the original creator of Frosty the Snowman; Adobe Flash animation with Al Doyle, the Director of Instructional Technology at The Town School; creating a short film in NYC in only 3-1/2 hours with Lesley Yeo, a long-time digital film educator who is the BFS Preschool and Lower School Technology Integrator; and video-blogging with Heather Johnston and Gordon Eriksen, filmmakers and creators of the food and wine blog SoGood.tv.

The Brooklyn Friends School’s Jazz Ensemble entertained during a first-rate dinner in the BFS cafeteria. An introduction to the festival was the first-time screening of a film interpretation of Romeo and Juliet by students at Ramallah Friends, entitled “Fair Palestine.” The film contained discussions of student perspectives on their lives, followed by actual text by Shakespeare with settings in Ramallah.

 BFS Head of School Michael Nill

After introductions by Dr. Michael Nill, Head of Brooklyn Friends School and festival director Andy Cohen, the audience screened the nineteen finalists in the competition. Films were categorized as narratives, documentaries, and public service announcements—all with themes rooted in Quakerism. After the screening, a panel of judges retired for deliberation. The films were then critiqued by a panel of judges and rated in terms of cinematography, creativity, narrative, originality, and message based on the Quaker testimonies of integrity, equality, stewardship, peace, simplicity and community.

S. Epatha Merkerson

During the deliberations, the audience was entertained and enlightened by S. Epatha Merkerson, the actress well-known for her portrayal of Lieutenant Van Buren on “Law and Order” for the past 15 years. She has many other film, television and Broadway credits to her name and she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2006 Golden Globe for her performance in “Lackawanna Blues.” Ms. Merkerson answered questions from students with depth of thought and experience. Her presentation was incredibly moving and inspiring to both students and adults.

The Judges’ Choice Award for narrative film went to:

Robyn Goodrich

Ian Clements 

 Larry Nieves

“Awakening,” by Robyn Goodrich, Leci Rebin and Matti Legro of Tandem Friends School, which told the story of a girl who was “asleep to the support around her.” The documentary award was presented to a team of students from Brummana High School in Lebanon. Their film, “PLAN-B,” concerned students who were unable to produce a film due to logistical difficulties of living in a war-torn country so they had to revert to making a simple yet effective documentary of the struggles and dreams of the student filmmakers themselves. The public service announcement award went to Ian Clements of Delaware Valley Friends School for “Who Makes War.”
This clever commercial was about a boy’s military toys throwing down their weapons in peaceful protest. The Spirit of the Festival Award went to a team of students from Oakwood Friends School, for the documentary “Compass to Freedom,” the story of the Quakers in New York State and the Underground Railroad.

the Festival judges

Many thanks and congratulations to all entrants this year for their amazing work!



BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL 2008 Finalist Narrative Films


* Judges’ Choice Award **Spirit of the Festival Award

• “Semantics”—Ackworth School (England)
• “Twenty-Four Hundred”—Brooklyn Friends School (New York)
• “Triad”—Brooklyn Friends School – (New York)
• “Last Snow”—Cambridge Friends School (Massachusetts)
• “Redemption Diary”—Delaware Valley Friends (Pennsylvania)
• “Eleutheromania”—George School (Pennsylvania)
• “Keep Your Change”—Pickering College (Canada)
• “Proper Response to Reality”—Tandem Friends School (Virginia)
• * “Awakening”—Tandem Friends School (Virginia)


BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL 2008 Finalist Documentary Films
• * “Plan-B”—Brummana High School (Lebanon)
• “Complex Simplicity”—Friends Central School (Pennsylvania)
• ** “Compass to Freedom”—Oakwood Friends School (New York)
• “Consumerism”—Pickering College (Canada)


BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL 2008 Finalist Public Service Announcements
• “Go Green”—Brooklyn Friends School (New York)
• * “Who Makes War”—Delaware Valley Friends (Pennsylvania)
• “See No Evil”—George School (Pennsylvania)
• “Merry Christmas”—Pickering College (Canada)
• “Kindness”—Tandem Friends School (Virginia)
• “A Hug a Day”—Tandem Friends School (Virginia)


Photos, from top: BFS Head of School Michael Nill; festival director Andy Cohen; the Festival judges; Robyn Goodrich (Tandem Friends School) with Andy Cohen; Don Duga’s cel animation workshop; digital media challenge workshop.
Below, clockwise from upper left: S. Epatha Merkerson; and with Andy Cohen: Matthew Gentile (Brooklyn Friends School); Larry Nieves (Brooklyn Friends School); Ian Clements (Delaware Valley Friends School)