White House Student Film Festival

President Barack Obama poses for a selfie with Bill Nye, left, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson in the Blue Room prior to the White House Student Film Festival, Feb. 28, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Founded| 2014 (2014)
Hosted by| American Film Institute, White House

The White House Student Film Festival was an annual event held by the White House and co-sponsored by the American Film Institute. During the inaugural festival in 2014, students in Kindergarten through 12th Grade were able to submit short films about "why technology is so important, and how it will change the educational experience for kids in the future."[1] 16 videos were selected to be screened out of over 2,500 submitted videos.[2] Several celebrity guests were in attendance, including Kal Penn, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye.[3]

The 16 video selections were sorted into four categories: Young Visionaries, Future Innovators, World of Tomorrow, and Building Bridges.[4]

The second year of the festival took place at the White House and the Newseum in Washington, DC on March 20 and 21, 2015, with a theme of "the Impact of Giving Back".[5][6]

In 2016, the event was held on October 2, immediately preceding the White House's South by South Lawn festival. The theme was "The World I Want to Live In".[7][8]

## 2014 Video Selections

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### Young Visionaries

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* Discovery by Tiffany Lin
* Thru the Lens of a Tiger by Alicia Oluhara and Jason Perry
* Stay Curious: Technology in the Classroom by Kayla Briet
* Teleportation Investigation of 2014 by The Extrazzlers - Caroline Proffit, Elizabeth Russell, Natalie Koeritzer, and Lexus Wolf
* Beyond the Crossfire by Gabriel Garcia, Tirsa Mercado, Rachel Walden, and High Tech High
* Technology, Documentary, My Dad, and Me by Shelly Ortiz

### Future Innovators

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* PIP by Richard White, Nicolas Ramey and Emil Willmann
* Technology and Me by East Silver Spring Elementary 1st Grade
* Art Tech Collaboration by Highlands and Mill Street Elementary Schools

### World of Tomorrow

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* Tomorrow's Classroom by Alexander Emerson
* Technology In Education: A Future Classroom by Daniel Nemroff
* Full S[T]EAM Ahead – How Technology Rocks the Classroom by Miles Pilchik, Gabrielle Nafie, and the children of SciTech Kids

### Building Bridges

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* Double Time by Joshua Leong and Stephen Sheridan
* Hello From Malaysia by Kira Bursky
* Alex by Aaron Buangsuwon and Alex Buangsuwon
* A Day In the Life of Kyle by Justin Etzine, Kyle Weintraub, Marni Rosenblatt, and Rachel Huss

## References

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1. ^ Hudson, David (2014-02-28). "The White House Hosts Its First-Ever Student Film Festival". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
2. ^ Superville, Darlene (2014-02-28). "White House hosts first student film festival". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
3. ^ Superville, Darlene (28 February 2014). "Obama praises classroom technology, young filmmakers at Oscar-like White House film festival". US News. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
4. ^ Boyle, Alan (28 February 2014). "Students Are Stars at White House Film Festival". NBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
5. ^ McNary, Dave (2015-03-11). "Second White House Student Film Festival Set for March 20-21". Variety. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
6. ^ Brayton, Jenna (2015-03-22). "What You Missed: The White House Student Film Festival". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
7. ^ "The White House Student Film Festival". www.afi.com. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
8. ^ "The 2016 White House Student Film Festival". The White House. Retrieved 2018-06-20.