South Orange Invitational returns for fourth year

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The host committee of the fourth annual South Orange Invitational has selected Cinema Ed, a community-based nonprofit, as the beneficiary of this year’s event. Cinema Ed provides local underrepresented high school students with a variety of intensive programs designed to teach them the skills they need to craft their own independent films. These programs also provide them with the opportunity to work on specific film projects with professional filmmakers while also focusing on their high school studies. The proceeds from this year’s event will go toward additional resources for students, such as mentors, MacBooks and iPads, which will allow CinemaEd’s programs to expand and reach a greater number of student filmmakers.

The golf event will be Monday, Sept. 13, at the East Orange Golf Course, 440 Parsonage Hill Road in Short Hills, starting at 1 p.m. Founded in 2017 by South Orange Village President Sheena C. Collum and former Trustee Deborah Davis Ford, the South Orange Invitational was created to provide a fun day of friends, golf and dinner while raising money for nonprofit organizations serving the local community. 

Everyone is invited to attend and, according to Davis Ford, “even if you are a non-golfer, you can still come in the evening and enjoy a wonderful dinner. There will be prizes for shots closest to the pin and longest drive among others, as well as a silent auction and raffle. Please come out and support Cinema Ed, a wonderful local South Orange nonprofit.” 

Golfers, as well as sponsors and dinner-goers, can register ahead of time at so-invitational.org.

Founded in 2014, Cinema Ed’s essential programs and services include developing and implementing film competitions for N.J. high school students, and also designing weekend “bootcamps” where local artists teach filmmaking to students. From 2016 to 2021, CinemaEd collaborated with the SOMA Film Festival, resulting in screenings to sold-out theaters, as well as virtual events. 

Cinema Ed founder and Executive Director Richard Stephen Bell, a former high school teacher who is also a professional actor and screenwriter, has a lot to say about education and the need to engage students on a whole new level in the digital era.

“An engaged student is a learning student, and being directly involved in the making of an independent film, learning from professionals how to tell a story, rewrite a script, do a production schedule and budget, and actually shoot the film, is a powerful way to engage and provide students not only with the technical skills but also with self-efficacy, which improves their schoolwork in all subjects,” Bell said. 

For more information, visit www.CinemaEd.org or contact Bell at [email protected].

  Cinema Ed, East Orange Golf Course