Two ConVal High School Students Selected to Showcase Original Films at New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival

PETERBOROUGH — Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Career and Technical Education Director Jennifer Kiley are proud to share that two ConVal High School students have been selected to showcase their original films at the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival.

Junior Aliston Bolton and Senior Jennifer Hopkins will present their short films at the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival (NHHSSFF) on Sunday, May 19, at Chunky’s Cinema Pub in Manchester.

Only 20 films created by students across the state were selected for the competition. Films were selected and scored based on originality, cinematic storytelling and technical execution, and all films, regardless of type or genre, will be judged on the filmmaker’s ability to effectively captivate an audience through cinematic expression.

The judges panel will consist of industry professionals including videographers, editors, graphic designers, sound designers, producers, writers, filmmakers and similar fields.

As part of the Region 14 Applied Technology Center’s Digital Video II course, students must submit a short film to the competition. Bolton, a student in the class, and Hopkins, a student and teaching assistant for the Digital Photo and Video program, both had their work chosen as screening selections for the festival.

Bolton’s short film “Missing Winter” depicts a fictional story where a power outage leads to a need for ice to keep food from spoiling. The character then reminisces about fond winter memories, including a captivating edit of students skiing.

Hopkins’ film “Do You Remember Me” focuses on tracing family genealogy, specifically about relationship rifts due to the Great Depression and the resulting reconnection.

The Region 14 ATC took home top honors from NHHSSFF in 2022 and hopes to return the trophy to ConVal this year.

“Good luck to Aliston and Jennifer as they head to Manchester this weekend for the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival,” said CTE Director Kiley. “Their hard work and dedication is evident by the excellent cinematography displayed in their films. We cannot wait to see the results of the competition!”