Artistic creativity takes the spotlight at Indie Festival

By Luke Tan ‘24

Award winners Amy Sun ’23, Maiti O’Connor ’23, Naomi Valcourt ’24 and Sasha Chernyak ’23 gather on the stage.

On Friday May 19, 2023, the 2023 INDIE Film Festival took place in the Berry Performing Art Center. After a delicious dinner provided by Sage Dining Services, seven phenomenal films were shown: The Blue Submarine by Lucy Chen ‘23 at first place, School by Jiyue (Amy) Sun ‘23 at second, There Were Two by Sasha Chernyak ‘23 at third, For You by Naomi Valcourt with honorable mention, Puppy Love by Maiti O’Connor ‘23 with honorable mention, Lock by Chengwei (Jackie) Huang ‘23, Upstander by Sreeprada Arumilli, Finish Line by Soham Panigrahi ‘23, Time Flies by Yuxuan (Claire) Chen ‘23, The Hands of God by Jack Silver ‘23 (edited by Naischa Puri ‘23), and Turn Back by Hongshuo (Charles) Chang ‘23.

Mr. Cristian Fernandez, who teaches the Film Study class and played an instrumental role in putting the evening together, speaks for the audience: “The quality of the films this year was exceptional, and not all of them were awarded. I highly recommend everyone watching all of them, there were just so many exceptional movies… really amazing movies.”

For many filmmakers and actors, this night was a foray into the world of acting and film, and for some even animation. Lucy Chen, who hand-drew her winning film Blue Submarine, recounted, “The process was challenging; I’m not really skilled in things that involve professionalism in film. However, I admit that acting was more difficult for me, so I quickly self-taught Adobe Animate and worked with Mr. Fernandez on several revisions. It was quite an accomplishment to finish it since, at first, I didn’t think I could convert the image in my head into something real.”

Kayla, making her debut at the festival, noted that “making the film was a lot more fun than I anticipated, from designing my wardrobe, filming bloopers, and even creating the blood that was seen in the film.”

Sasha Chernyak ‘23, a senior veteran at the INDIE said, “I had a great time making my film this year, and am happy to be leaving the school knowing I made a film worth watching.”

Through these films, the students were able to convey their inner emotions, from frustration about the Covid-19 Pandemic in Lock to reminiscing about high school in School. Amy Sun explained, “The film School is based on my real experience: I wrote my feelings down and made it into a movie. I really appreciate the chance for my film to be presented through this festival, it gave me the opportunity to show myself.”

The W+H community looks forward to next year, as more students join in the joyful expression of self.