Collaborative Cinema

This Saturday January 9^th, Milwaukee Film hosted the first workshop for its Collaborative Cinema program at Discovery World. 41 high school students from Milwaukee and surrounding areas (out of over 100 who submitted) were picked to attend the workshop based on their idea for a short film. During the workshop, the students learned tips and tricks from film industry professionals to help guide them in turning their ideas into a full screenplay. The goal of the program is to continue working with the students and their screenplays until ultimately one is chosen to be made into a short film which will premiere at the 2010 Milwaukee Film Festival. Past participants of the Collaborative Cinema program including Vinnie Balistreri (She Never Screams, winner in ’06), Katrina Schwarz (Small Talk, winner in ’07) Emily Downes (The Waiting Room, winner in ’08), and Natalie Mullins (Ward Three, winner in ’09) also attended to offer guidance and suggestions to this year’s 41 hopefuls. With Project Director Mark Metcalf (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Seinfeld) at the helm, the day was filled with fun, learning, and for 41 high school students, the chance of a lifetime.

Ryan Sarnowski and the wonderful film students that are part of the DocUWM program were on hand all day capturing the action and excitement that unfolded to make a short documentary about the Collaborative Cinema program. I can’t wait to see the final product!

All in all, it was an intense workshop and a big thank you goes out to the mentors and students for making the day such a success!

Good luck to everyone participating in the Collaborative Cinema program this year!