BYoung filmmakers show their stuff By Julie Lane Hang the new television season. If you really want to be on the cutting edge of what's happening in the arts, you'll want to be part of the audience at the Greenport Theatre Saturday night when a host of local student filmmakers screen their films. The young high school and college students will be competing in the first East End Student Film Project, which organizers hope will lay the groundwork for developing an after-school film program, according to Rachel Yellin of the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District. "We were extremely pleased by the number of wonderful film admissions we received and talent that truly exists on the North Fork," she said. Given the wealth of professionals who live in the area, many of whom have already expressed interest in sharing their expertise with students, Ms. Yellin said, the program would be a natural outgrowth of Mattituck High School teacher John Roslak's film and television production program. Some of the finalists whose films will be shown Saturday night got their first experience in Mr. Roslak's program. Nora Brisotti, 18, of Cutchogue was among them. Her entry, "Rabbit," is a short animation film that was painstaking in its creation, she said. She had to create each frame by computer, a very time-consuming process, she said. Her interest in filmmaking grew out of her early passion for art, she said. Now she's enrolled in the film and television program at New York University and thinking her career path could include more animation as well as live action films. Jeff Lang, 18, of Mattituck, has produced "Audubon's Book," the story of a young boy, Johnny, who finds a magical book that transports him page by page to various places, but turns dark when Johnny tries to destroy the book. Mr. Lang is studying at Suffolk County Community College and hoping to move on to Stony Brook University's film program. Brothers Matt and Dan Schroeder of Mattituck made a splash last summer when they worked with former Stony Brook film professor Michael Edelson to create the mystery "Teacher's Pet," with professional actors Jere Jacob and Alan Stewart. Filmed at Victorian Lady, a Greenport B & amp;B, the film has been shown at Floyd Memorial Library and won the brothers a scholarship this summer at the Art Institute of Chicago, where the 17-year-old twins were enrolled in the school's early college program. Sarah Cowan, a 17-year-old senior at Southold High School, created "Breathe Me," which uses symbolism to tell the story of an automobile accident following football practice. She enlisted her brother and sister to act in her film. Ms. Cowan is currently enrolled in the BOCES technical program and is hoping to pursue studies next year at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Southold senior Joshua Voegelin, 17, chose the theme of loneliness for his film, which follows a young girl through her day. "Graveyard" evolved from a Japanese haiku that he and his assistant director, Matt Daddona, had read. This isn't Mr. Voegelin's first film festival, although he describes himself as someone who has "just kind of messed around" with film. Kathryn Rosnack of Mattituck, who celebrates her 17th birthday Sunday, has created "The Journey," a music video that follows a little girl on her quest to reach home. She started making films because of a required high school course and "I actually found I really loved it." The high school senior is looking around at colleges now with an eye to pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. Young filmmakers Kelly Goeller, who created "Honduras," and Alex van Boer, who filmed "Soil and Sand," couldn't be reached by presstime, but their entries also will be shown on Saturday night. Celebrity judges WNBC-TV critic Jeffrey Lyons, art director and producer Bob Markell and writer and producer Tom Leopold will select winners. The first prize is a $500 gift certificate to B & amp;H Photo in Manhattan. The student whose film places second will win a $250 gift certificate and a $125 gift certificate will go to the third-place winner. There will be two sets of winners, one for high school aged filmmakers and the other for college students. While the Saturday night program, an hour-and-a-half long, had to be limited to finalists, there's a 6:30 p.m. showing of films by students who merited an "honorable mention." And all entries will be shown multiple times on CableVision, said Ms. Yellin. Saturday night's screening begins at 8 p.m. and is free, with refreshments provided by D'Latte and The Market to be served at the end of the program. Times/Review Newspapers and Tax Reduction Services are sponsoring the East End Student Film Project with help from the Greenport Movie Theatre.
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