Students at City Honors have come up with a great idea to help fund their school’s film program (CHS Film Program). Since the students have access to an auditorium that they can use as see they fit (for the most part), they came up with a plan to show a movie series that would be open to the public. By generating funds through monthly viewings of movies that would be nearly impossible to catch on the big screen, let along the oversized screen, the students hope to be able to procure funds to purchase film equipment necessary to advance the program’s mission. Anna Blatto, a student at City Honors, reached out to Buffalo Rising to spread the good word of the film festival that they are calling Cinema on the Hill. From Anna:
“This year, select students in my film class have taken the initiative in planning and executing a film series to raise money for our film program. Cinema on the Hill is a collaboration between our teacher, Mrs. Mel Holden, a fellow student and friend of mine, Christina Schultz, and myself. At the end of last year, the three of us had a discussion about how we were going to raise money. The school partitions funds for our class, but not nearly enough to purchase new equipment and maintain the equipment we have.
“We came up with a few ideas, one of which was this film series. Obviously being enrolled in this film class, film has always been an important part of Christina’s and my life, so we were very excited to get working on the festival. After getting our idea approved, coming up with our finalized movies, and creating/printing our posters (thanks to our fellow film-mate Mateo Alexander), we’re very pleased to be so close to our first screening!
“Not only will this event raise money for our program, but I think, more importantly, it shares our love for film with anybody who attends. We’re trying our best to spread the word and get as many people interested as possible. We think this is a great opportunity for people to sit back, relax, and enjoy a movie they may not have the opportunity to see on the big screen anywhere else.
“All the money we raise will go directly back into the film program, and will be used to purchase new cameras and additional equipment that will be available for students to use for years to come.
“As the film program at City Honors grows, so do the strengths of the filmmakers involved. One of Mrs. Holden’s goals for the program was for students to eventually branch out and not only make films for the class itself, but for contests and the community as a whole. This past year, the third year in the CHS Film program, Christina and I teamed up and entered (and won/placed in) two video contests. Both entries (while the contests were regional and national) were community-based and outlined important issues that directly affected Buffalo. Therefore, while the funds from this series would go into purchasing new equipment, what we’ll do with this equipment will indirectly benefit this area as a whole. We’re very proud of the work we’ve done so far, and we really hope this series will be very successful! We’d like to thank anybody who plans on attending in advance, and we promise you’ll enjoy yourself very much.
Rocky Horror Picture Show – October 17th
Au Revoir Les Enfants – November 21st
Meet Me In St. Louis – December 19th
North by Northwest – January 16th
Bringing Up Baby – February 14th
Snow White – March 20th
Breathless – April 24th
Some Like It Hot – May 29th
Twitter: @CHSFilmFest