SFFILM Education presented the fourteenth annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest at the 2023 San Francisco International Film Festival. This contest is made possible by the generous support of the Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Education Fund, endowed by Tim Kochis and SFFILM board member Penelope Wong to honor the memory of her mother, Nellie Wong (1917–2007), who was an avid filmgoer and cinephile. Developed to support the year-round outreach efforts of SFFILM Education, the Fund aims to cultivate students’ imaginations, enhance their critical thinking and creative writing skills and instill a greater appreciation for the magic of movies in young audiences of the Bay Area.
SFFILM Education was pleased to have teachers and their students back for this Schools at the Festival program. This year, we encouraged freedom in student essay responses across K-12 classrooms, and winning essays were determined based on creativity, depth, enthusiasm, clarity, grammar. Essays needed to be written in response to any of the in-person or online Schools at the Festival screenings.
Prizes
Elementary School, Grades 1-5
Grand Prize: $250 cash prize – Scarlett Mercurio-Corao
Runner-up (1): $175 cash prize – Lily Ilan
Middle School, Grades 6-8
Grand Prize: $400 cash prize – Conor Boscardin
Runner-up (1): $250 cash prize – Abayomi Lewis
High School, Grades 9-12
Grand Prize: $600 cash prize – Finnian Sauriol
Runner-up (1): $350 cash prize – Melanie Robles
For questions, contact Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@sffilm.org.