SFFILM Education presents the sixteenth annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest at the 68th 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.
We are excited to read about your students’ experiences in the theaters.
2025 Prize Winners
Elementary School, Grades 1-5
Grand Prize: Tyler McClory
1st Runner-Up: Najwa Fadul
2nd Runner-Up: Dahlia Silva
Middle School, Grades 6-8
Grand Prize: Rachel Malvin
1st Runner-Up: Liliana Inglin
2nd Runner-Up: Sam Mercurio-Corao
High School, Grades 9-12
Grand Prize: Athena Lucero
1st Runner-Up: Alina Wang
2nd Runner-Up: Tanaya Safi
For questions, contact Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@sffilm.org.