Lights, camera, action!

For the second time in Blue Valley history, the school’s annual Film Festival was hosted in the PAC at 7 p.m.

The show, originally started last year by junior Maria Gnoza, in coordination with the BV Film Club, was $3 to enter, and featured a night full of laughs, prizes, trivia and creative films.

Gnoza said she was pleased with the Film Festival turnout and entries for its second stage.

“I was very happy with the quality of the films submitted this year,” Gnoza said. “We had about the same amount of entries, but more people came to the actual event, and you could really tell that people took a lot of time and put a lot of effort into their films.”

The motion pictures played ranged from light hearted comedies to thought-provoking dramas.

“There was a lot of diversity among the entries shown,” Gnoza said. “We always start the lineup with comedies, because they’re lighthearted, and get people excited about the festival. Then we move into the deeper, more emotional movies later. It’s really nice when we have a larger variety of films because it shows the audience the new side of each filmmaker.”

The entries submitted were “Lollipop” by freshman Lauren Winter, “Titanic in Forty Seconds” by junior Lorna hurt, “This is Who I Am” by junior Kaylee Root, “A Collection of Obscure Sorrows” by Jeremy Chenoweth and “We Met Online” by senior Bailey Klehn.

The winner, carefully chosen by director and producer Kendall Sinn and Emmy award-winning actress Michelle Davidson, was Root with a production about struggles and heartbreak shown through a transgender character.

Root received a bouquet of roses and chocolate for first place, while the other film makers were acknowledged onstage along with her.

With plans to continue to grow the Film Club and the Film Festival, Gnoza said she looks forward to the future.

“Not many people know what it is,” she said. “The hardest part now is getting students to come to the actual festival. Now that’s it’s starting to gain more attention, hopefully as it progresses, we will receive a bigger audience so people’s hard work can continue to be shown.”

For updates on the BV Film Club meetings and activities, follow @BVFilmFest on Twitter.