Posts by: AJ Christensen
Pens To Lens 2014 Press Release
For immediate release
Second Annual Pens To Lens Student Screenwriting Competition Launches Feb 1st
The second annual Pens To Lens student screenwriting competition hosted by the Champaign-Urbana Film Society (CUFS) will launch this February 1st. The student writing portion will run through February 28th, and filmmakers will produce films for an August 2014 red carpet gala. All students in East Central Illinois are invited to participate and all teachers are encouraged to share the opportunity with their classes.
The Pens To Lens Screenwriting Competition was established with the goal of creating an opportunity for K-12 Students to participate in the local filmmaking community by writing original screenplays for short films. Without knowing what to expect, the CUFS received over 120 screenplay submissions from students aged 5 to 18.
Members of Champaign Movie Makers (CMM) produced NINE original films based on chosen submissions. Many other submissions were chosen by members of the Champaign-Urbana Design Organization (CUDO) to be adapted as movie posters. The films and posters premiered to a standing-room only crowd at a red carpet gala at the Art Theater in downtown Champaign.
This year, the Pens To Lens Committee is welcoming participation in film production from K-12 students. The Pens to Lens Committee is also sending professional filmmakers and designers to visit classrooms and after-school programs.
Additionally, the Film Society is putting out a call to community filmmakers, actors, and designers who are interested in participating in bringing student scripts to life.
The website PensToLens.com currently has submission guidelines and educational materials available. Once the competition starts, the site will allow students to indicate they would like to help on the filmmaking sets and teachers to request a filmmaker class visit. Any additional information can be found on the website or by contacting info@PensToLens.com.
2014 Pens To Lens Awards and Screening Gala
The gala is currently scheduled for August 2014. More information about the gala will be shared here in the coming months.
Unexpected Trip
Written by three students from Urbana High School
A story about a Mexican family that experiences poverty and immigration problems as they come to the U.S.A.; it is based on a true story and it talks about the lives of illegal immigrants and what they go through.
Filmmaker: AJ Christensen
AJ Christensen is a simulation artist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, a committee chair for the international computer graphics community ACM SIGGRAPH, and a board member for CU Film Society. He does visual effects work on local films, and is excited for his directorial debut here at Pens To Lens.
Cast and crew credits processing… (IMDB)
