SFFILM Education presented the fifteenth annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest at the 67th 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 is pleased to have teachers and their students join us for this year’s Schools at the Festival program. We like to encourage freedom in student essay responses across K-12 classrooms.
Winning essays will be determined based on creativity, depth, enthusiasm, clarity, and grammar. Essays must be written in response to any of the in-person or online Schools at the Festival screenings. Students may choose one film program or submit separate essays for more than one program. Students need to follow the word count guidelines for their respective grades.
*Children in grades 1-12 who attend a public screening of a film included in the Schools at the Festival program are also eligible to participate. Parents: please be sure to fill in all of the required entry information when submitting.
We are excited to read about your students’ experiences back in the theaters.
2024 Prize Winners
Elementary School, Grades 1-5
Grand Prize: Lani Martinez-Sun
1st Runner-Up: Malia Paige
2nd Runner-Up: Kaya Harrington
Middle School, Grades 6-8
Grand Prize: Charlie Thompson
1st Runner-Up: Adriana Te
2nd Runner-Up: Siena Sid
High School, Grades 9-12
Grand Prize: Joey Carlson
1st Runner-Up: Morgan Eakin
2nd Runner-Up: Arson Bacon-Bratton
For questions, contact Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@sffilm.org.