OHS filmmakers get their time on big screen

SOUTH ORANGE — Orange High School students will walk the Red Carpet on March 26 and then watch films they created on the big screen at The Village at SOPAC Theatres in South Orange.

The general public is invited to this free event, which is the culmination of “DocFilmBoot,” a filmmaking bootcamp that is a collaboration between the local non-profit Cinema Ed, Drew University and the Orange School District.

Luke Parker Bowles and his team at Cinema Lab have donated a theater space to screen these films. For the past six weeks Drew student mentors, along with professional filmmaking mentors from Cinema Ed have been visiting Orange High School to work with filmmaking students to help create six documentaries, according to a press release from Cinema Ed.

The films will then be sent to documentary industry professionals who will judge them and choose the top two documentaries.

Cinema Ed provides high school students with a variety of intensive programs designed to teach them the skills they need to craft their own independent films and find work in the film and television industry, the release said.

These programs also provide them with the opportunity to work on specific film projects with professional filmmakers while also focusing on their studies in all areas of their high school curriculum.

Drew University’s Center for Civic Engagement has partnered with Orange and Cinema Ed to provide Drew students the opportunity to work at Orange High School as part of their Civic Media Class.

In its third year, DocFilmBoot operates as part of a grant from Essex County and Jersey Arts. The general public is invited to attend this free screening at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 25 and the first 100 attendees will also receive a free small popcorn and soda to enjoy while they watch the films by these local high school students.

For more information on this event and how to obtain tickets, please visit www.CinemaEd.org.

  Cinema Ed, Drew University, Orange High School