Monroeville Public Library launches Teen Film Festival

Back when, say, Steven Spielberg starting making movies, the process of using 8 mm film and editing it with a razor blade was far more cumbersome than how it’s done today.

“Kids, with their iPhones and kind of basic programs, can really do so many cool things,” Benny Kuster, teen librarian at Monroeville Public Library, said.

With that in mind, he has organized the library’s first Teen Film Festival, which is open to seventh- through 12th-graders throughout the Pittsburgh area. Students can submit either a three- to five-page script or three- to five-minute movie.

A festival showcasing all entries is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 25. The event is free and open to the public.

“I really want to give kids who are passionate about cinema a place to meet, the people who share that interest,” Kuster said, noting that filmmakers from the region will be in attendance to talk with students, “so that they can see all the opportunities that there are in Pittsburgh.”

He is happy to help prospective entrants get started with their projects. Available at the library, for example, are books on making movies and computers with editing software.

And Kuster advises:

“Have some kind of plan. Write down what you want to do first. And understand that it’s not going to work, and that’s part of the fun: then figuring it out.”

Written versions of would-be films are welcome.

“Making a movie sometimes requires a lot of people,” Kuster said. “So if you can’t find anyone but you still want to be involved, you can write a script and submit it.”

The deadline to submit entries is March 17. Prizes will in various categories based on votes from judges from the local filmmaking community.

For more information, contact Kuster, at 412-372-0500, ext. 117, or kusterb@monroevillelibrary.org. Entries can be submitted to him by email.