Now in its eighth year, the Philadelphia Youth Film Festival is going strong.
By Zoe Kyriakakis ’27
Art by Zoe Kyriakakis ’27
New student-led organizations don’t always catch on—key members may graduate, and no one steps in to fill their shoes—and eventually, the club fizzles out, leaving its founders disappointed. But in recent years, one club managed to persist. The Philadelphia Youth Film Festival, or PHYFF, is a group dedicated to screening youth film submissions from all over the world. It began in 2017 as a combination of Hyunji Kim ’18’s filmmaking club and Eli Eisenstein ’18’s desire for a GFS film festival. “If a student is motivated, has a really cool idea, and asks me for help, I feel compelled to say yes,” says Sarah Kappel, one of the club’s original faculty advisors. “It’s so exciting; I want to nurture that, and I feel like it’s a big piece of my role as an educator at GFS.”
All of the work that goes into PHYFF culminates in an annual all-day festival held on a Saturday in February. The event includes a keynote address, screenings of the official film selections, and workshops for students to learn about filmmaking. The planning process begins when members of PHYFF are organized into committees (outreach, submissions, website, event coordination, and publicity), each with its own student leader. Tilda Stace ’24, this year’s director, has “learned that it’s okay to delegate” and that “equal parts, equal jobs, and equal opportunities [lead to] more opportunities for success!” The whole team comes together to pre-screen hundreds of films, and PHYFF then sends the approved films to a panel of volunteer judges, made up of professionals in the industry who are in some way related to GFS, to choose the selections and winners.
PHYFF operates on three main prongs: watching films from around the globe, learning about filmmaking, and networking within the film community. “The best thing about our festival is diversity,” says Albert Yao ’25, one of next year’s directors. “We have films coming from high school students all over the world, and that’s fascinating.” The festival is also committed to accessibility, so it is completely free to both enter and attend. When founding the club, Eisenstein expressed a desire to eliminate the money barrier that many aspiring filmmakers face. In that spirit, the judges often prioritize the vision and storytelling of a film over its production value. Additionally, PHYFF hosts workshops on the day of the festival where aspiring filmmakers can learn how to bring their creative dreams to life.
Participating in PHYFF has been a positive and formative experience for many of its members. “The film festival has given me so many skills in communication, time management, and organization,” says Ryan Stumacher ’25, one of next year’s directors. Kappel states that one of her main goals as an advisor is to grow leaders, and she has seen students apply their newfound abilities in both college and the real world. The rising leadership already has ambitious goals like increasing publicity, building engagement, and growing the festival’s scope. Given the team’s level of dedication, passion, and hard work, there is no doubt that they will succeed.
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