SFFILM Education presented the thirteenth annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest at the 65th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21–May 1, 2022). 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.
This year’s honorable mentions are awarded in loving memory of Owen Lucas Chan.
See the contest winners below:
Elementary School, Grades 1-5
Grand Prize ($250 cash prize): Alba Bailey Valera
Runner-up ($175 cash prize): Cleo Fowler
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Tiffany Li
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Tucker Addiego
Middle School, Grades 6-8
Grand Prize ($400 cash prize): Ella Picketts
Runner-up ($250 cash prize): Saphina Sid
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Hudson Addiego
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Rover Dijkstra
High School, Grades 9-12
Grand Prize ($600 cash prize): Marviel Mateo
Runner-up ($350 cash prize): Maggie O’Shea
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Jayna Dighe
Honorable Mention ($100 cash prize): Anisha Dwarka
For questions, contact Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@sffilm.org.