Shawna Scott, a Cole County 4-H member and filmmaker, received first- and second-place awards for her films as Missouri 4-H hosted young filmmakers at the inaugural national FilmFest 4-H from July 31-Aug. 1 in Branson.
Teenage participants screened each others' films, attended workshops, made new friends and enjoyed some of Branson's attractions.
About 40 youth and adults attended from six states. First-, second- and third-place awards were given in the categories of commercial spot, music video, narrative and documentary.
Shawna Scott won second place for her documentary "Robot Rumble" about a local Lego FIRST robotics team, and she won first place for her narrative "Piercing the Mask," a medieval action adventure.
The event kicked off Sunday evening as festivalgoers viewed the IMAX film "Hubble." They were also given behind the scenes tours of the IMAX theater and projection booth.
Monday and Tuesday featured screenings of 4-H members' narrative films, music videos and documentaries followed by question and answer sessions with the filmmakers.
There were also workshops, including: a lighting workshop presented by David Houlle, owner and operator of Sight and Sound Production Services in St. Louis; a presentation on sound in film by Stephen Siwinski, a writer/producer for Chicago public television; a workshop on acting and the business of film presented by Scott-Arthur Allen of the Creative Actors Workshop; a session about documentaries and photojournalism with Russell Weston, an award-winning photojournalist for National Geographic, "Dateline" and many other television and film productions; and a workshop on stop-motion animation by Aaron Holdmeyer, a film student and animator from St. Louis.
Missouri 4-H has more than 300,000 youth ages 5-18, who more than 1,100 clubs. The four H's in 4-H stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. 4-H members work toward developing cognitive skills (Head), loyalty (Heart), community service (Hands) and healthy lifestyles (Health) through fun and engaging programs.
For more information about 4-H in Cole County visit extension.missouri.edu/cole/Programs/4-H/4-H.htm or contact the Cole County Extension Office at 573-634-2824 or [email protected] . For more information about FilmFest 4-H, visit 4h.missouri.edu/go/events/filmfest/.
Kelsea Scott is the sister of Shawna Scott and is also a member of Cole County 4-H.