Student-made films to be part of Mosaic Film Experience

Zombie teenagers, Gecko superheroes and mad scientists are just a few of the characters created by students at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center (CMC) this summer for the Mosaic Film Experience camps. The CMC Education Department facilitated two camps this past summer, "Girl Power" and "A Day in My Life." The Wealthy Theatre held a premiere screening of the films on September 9.

The films created will be a part of the Mosaic Film Experience event, taking place at the Wealthy Theatre this November 1 and 2. Afterwards, they will be shown on GRTV and available to be viewed online.

"The camps were made possible by the Mosaic Film Experience," says Vinnedge, "without whose generosity, the camps would not have taken place."

"Girl Power," the first two-week film camp, focused on animation. Students were told to create their own superhero with special super powers. Once the characters, such as 'Mega Mom' and "The Impressive Ring Re-pressor,' had been formed they then created a dialogue-free animation that told a story. 

"We wanted to make these animations dialogue free," says Lynn McKeown, CMC Program Manager and an instructor at the camps, "so that after the festival they can be internationally understood."

The second day camp, called "A Day in My Life," allowed the students to create short films with actors and dialogue. These films gave the students a platform to share a day in their shoes while also addressing some misconceptions about being a teenager. 

"It was a pretty open concept," says Gretchen Vinnedge, CMC Education Director, "they took a look at the realities of being a teen and also had the freedom to create a make-believe life of a teenager."