There was a buzz in the air on Sunday afternoon as student filmmakers entered The Ambler Theater and walked the red carpet at the screening and awards ceremony for the 2018 Film Now Festival, an international high school film festival hosted by Germantown Academy that gives students from all over the world the opportunity to showcase their work and have it juried by film professionals, including Tony Pitone '87 (Narrative Juror), Cameron Yates (Documentary Juror), Natalie Difford (Experimental Juror), and Josh Apter '89 (Jury Prize).

There was plenty of anticipation leading up to Sunday's event. Overall, 81 short films from 24 schools, 10 states, and seven countries were deemed "in consideration."

"The quality of films in consideration this year was incredibly impressive," said Germantown Academy Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications Adam McGrath, who has led the festival the past three years. "The depth of storytelling, emotional honesty, and technical achievement demonstrated in our finalists' work proves what young filmmakers can do. To have the opportunity to be assessed by industry professionals, network with their peers, and see their film up on the big screen along with an audience is something that will stay with them as they pursue a career in the arts. It's very rewarding to work on a festival that provides that kind of platform."

2018 Film Now Festival Photo Gallery

In the end, three films from each of the categories (Narrative, Experimental, Documentary) were selected as finalists and shown during Sunday's screening. Finalists were also awarded cash prizes for first, second, and third place ($300, $200, $100).

2018 Film Now Festival Finalists

Narrative Films

1st Place	Jasmine Stung	Partho Gupte	Oberoi International School	Mumbai, India
2nd Place	The Man With A Plan	Gabe Schmidt	Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy	Cincinnati, Ohio
3rd Place	Zombie Gras	Cameron Wheeless	Landry Walker High School	New Orleans, Louisiana
Honorable Mention	HYACINTH	Ava Young	Etobicoke School of the Arts	Toronto, Canada
Honorable Mention	The Remote	Nate Wiggins	Upper Dublin High School	Fort Washington
Honorable Mention	Don't Open the Door	Vasile Berde Luca Stefan	Ion Luca Caragiale National College	Bucharest, Romania

Experimental Films

1st Place	It Won't Hurt	Thomas Rubino	Westlake High School	Thornwood, New York
2nd Place	Ota Benga	Quan Do	George School	Newtown, Pennsylvania
3rd Place	The Track We're On	Isabelle Berthelot	Episcopal School of Acadiana	Broussard, Louisiana
Honorable Mention	L'Alchimiste	Chris Lowry	Henry Hudson Regional High School	Highlands, New Jersey
Honorable Mention	The Chew Up Watch	Alireza Khaledi	Shahid Qoddusi High School	Qom, Iran

Documentary Films

1st Place	You Look Nothing Like Your Mother	Ava Young	Etobicoke School of the Arts	Toronto, Canada
2nd Place	Changyou's Journey	Perry Chen	Canyon Crest Academy	San Diego, California
3rd Place	Dandelion	Ana Gutierrez	Perth Amboy High School	Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Ava Young of Toronto, who won the Documentary Category for her brilliant film, You Look Nothing Like Your Mother, also received the overall Jury Prize, a Padcaster Verse Kit. The Jury Prize was selected by Apter, founder of The Padcaster and The Padcaster Verse, which transform tablets and smart phones into mobile media powerhouses.

Five area films that were given Honorable Mention awards were also screened as part of the Tri-State Showcase.

The 2018 Film Now Festival Tri-State Showcase Honorable Mentions:

The Remote	Nate Wiggins	Upper Dublin High School	Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
L'Alchimiste	Chris Lowry	Henry Hudson Regional High School	Highlands, New Jersey
Farewell	David Nadwodny '18	Germantown Academy	Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
What is DACA?	Giselle Guzman	Esperanza Academy Charter School	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Puzzle Piece	Allison Riches	Hatboro-Horsham High School	Horsham, Pennsylvania

WATCH FILMS!

Local filmmakers that participated included students from Abington High School, Episcopal Academy, Esperanza Academy Charter High School, George School, Germantown Academy, Hatboro-Horsham High School, Pope John Paul II, Springfield Township High School, Upper Dublin High School, William Penn Charter School, and Wissahickon High School.

The Film Now Festival was launched by GA and was born out of a passion for guiding young people to the art of filmmaking. Taking inspiration from the Digital Media program at GA, alumnus Geoffrey Jackson '87 and his family pledged a generous gift to create a film festival that would offer high school students from all over the globe the chance to submit original short films to be judged by a panel of industry experts.