Students walk red carpet at ‘Picture the Valley’

The Fresno County Office of Education held a student film festival, “Picture the Valley,” on Wednesday, April 13 at Maya Cinemas in Fresno. The event showcased original short films created entirely by students in grades six through 12, highlighting the various attributes of the Central Valley that make this area unique.

This event was designed to allow teachers to use this project as a classroom or an after-school activity. Video categories included: Documentary, Personal Narrative and Public Service Announcement. There were 41 video submissions and 102 students participated from schools throughout Fresno County. Teams included up to four students who directed, produced and edited the short films.

Outstanding films were awarded medals and certificates, and the best films within each category and division (Senior/Junior) received prizes. The student prize for the Sweepstakes award in each division was an iPod Touch and the teacher prize was a GoPro camera for the classroom.

The Junior Sweepstakes winner was Kerman Floyd Elementary, Kerman Unified School District, with their public service announcement, “Make Healthy Food Choices.” The Senior Sweepstakes winner was a tie between Buchanan High School, Clovis Unified School District, with their documentary, “Hero of the Central Valley,” and Sunnyside High School, Fresno Unified School District, with their personal narrative, “Winter Formal Short.”

The winning videos will be displayed on the FCOE event website at www.picturethevalley.org.